Cutthroat Stone
by VanillaREM
Summary: An orphan will remain an orphan until the day what made him so takes that away..."
1. I've Been Watching You

If you've heard (make that read) about me, you'll know that in the past, the only show/book/movie, etc. that I've worked on has been Beyblade (I'm writing this from the standpoint now so if it changes from the time I write this to the time you read it then it's not my fault). Even though I've only written Beyblade, it doesn't mean that I only like that, just that I haven't had any sparkplug ideas for anything else I like...until now. Metropolis-HERE I COME!!!  
  
Oh, but first all those disclaimer thingummies and footnotes; Metropolis, characters, names, logos and related indicia are trademarks of Tezuka Productions/ Metropolis Project (METOROPORISU). Meaning I do not own anything I have just previously mentioned, though Sanguine, her and Rock's parents (some spontaneous characters may pop up later in the story and these are the only ones I fully know of at the moment) are copyrighted to me, evangel-blader (again, if I change my pen name within the time you're reading this, that's your problem, not mine).  
  
One more thing: Let us all comprehend one thing-I do not like Rock. I DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT LIKE, DO NOT LIKE, LIKE, AND DEFINITELY DO NOT LOVE ROCK OF METROPOLIS (despite what my friend thinks). There, just to get that cleared up...Let's start the fanfic!  
  
One more thing: I don't like swearing, but since Metropolis has four profanities in it, I probably should stick to that principle.  
  
1. I've Been Watching You  
  
Boom.  
  
Screams rent the dense, melancholy air in which hung the purulent smell of blood and rotting flesh. The sound of bombshells exploding, guns firing, yells and screams rang through their heads and ricocheted through their skulls. She hugged him closer to her, feeling that maybe it would make a better safeguard to do so.  
  
He stood on the battlefield, torn, bloody garments with battle- scarred features. He scrutinized the hell (A/N: Not considered profane in this context) that stood before him; blood-red, cloudy skies, inert corpses, bullet cartridges, bombshells, soil ground and dying grass, all coated with vast amounts of blood. He watched as one of his men ran in front of him, pursuing one from the enemy side. With a cock of the trigger, the enemy went down with a squelching sound and crimson liquid erupting from his forehead.  
  
"This is not how humans were meant to be...I can only hope that my son won't have to witness something like this. If he's still alive, that is. At least it's over..." the man mumbled. He then waved his hand in the air, signalling to the men of his squadron. "Come on, men! It's over, we've won and now we can rest!"  
  
The score of men that were left raised their rifles in the air with a cheer. They parted in different directions of the field, two of them following his direction. He walked with purposeful strides to one of the run-down houses near the edge of the field. He watched his men enter their cabins to meet the blissful arms of their wives and children a few metres away. Then, he stepped in front of the doorway of his.  
  
He stood there, gazing around at the run-down shack, scanning for his family. "Come on, this isn't funny, you two. Come out..." he called softly.  
  
"Father?" came a small reply.  
  
The man's face eased in a relieved smile and he spread his arms wide. A small child emerged from the wreckage, pushing a board away to reveal himself and a woman. The child ran towards him, arms open wide in the same fashion, a wide, jubilant smile on his face.  
  
The man crouched down as the boy ran into his arms. They hugged each other lovingly as the woman watched with tears in her eyes. The man looked up as he heard a yell. He turned away from his son and to his men. "What is it?"  
  
"Watch out, Commander! It's aim-"  
  
Bang.  
  
The soldier fell to the ground along with the child that had been in his arms. His wife screamed and the other soldier gasped with his family. The man began to turn his head the other way and then heard another gunshot. With a sharp pain in the side of his head and squelch, his vision blurred, then was darkened.  
  
The boy's eyes were wide in horror as his father rolled his eyes. He backed away warily as the man's grip on him loosened and scarlet liquid spattered him and his father. He ran back to his mother's horrified arms as the man fell to the ground and cried into the swells of her chest. She hugged him tightly and began to hum softly to comfort him.  
  
The woman watched as a tall, uniformed man appeared in the doorway. Another figure that moved jerkily followed beside him. The man placed his foot on her husband and shot him three more times with his rifle. He turned to the robot and said, "Good work." Then they looked up and at her. She shifted so that her son lay hidden from view.  
  
The uniformed man turned around. "Sir, there's another one here, and it's a lady."  
  
Another man, taller than the uniformed one emerged at his side. Though shadowed, she could see that he wore a hat and cape. He stared at her. "Well, it's not nice to harm a lady, now is it?"  
  
"No, sir," chuckled the uniformed one.  
  
"You men leave me alone. You've taken my husband, what more could you want?" she yelled at them in frustration.  
  
"Nothing much, my good woman. In fact, we're on our way, now." The taller man said as he turned and prepared to stride away. "Shoot her."  
  
"You got it," answered the other one as he raised his gun.  
  
The young boy made a small gasp as he saw something small and black leave the gun, fly through the air, penetrate his mother's head, and land in the wall behind them. More blood, this time from his mother's head poured over him. The two men turned and left as his mother's head slowly began to tilt towards the side. It then carried her whole upper body with it as it came to rest in the boy's lap.  
  
With tiny, yet strong hands, he lifted his mother's head and stared into her wide, lifeless green eyes. Tears welled up in his as he leant forward and let them stain her brown hair. He pried himself out of the small corner and ran out of the cabin, stepping over his father to scowl at the departing men. "Hey! You!"  
  
The tall, caped man turned. "What is it-Oh! Well, hello there, little one. Where did you come from?"  
  
The boy looked in confusion at the man standing before him and then at the man at his feet. They both looked alike, so which one was Father? The boy took a few steps forward, smile widening with each one. He then ran with wide arms towards the man and embraced him.  
  
The tall man stared down in amazement at the brown-haired boy cuddling his legs. He glanced at the man beside him. "Should I dispose of him, sir?" the uniformed man asked.  
  
The tall, blonde-haired man shook his head. "No. Leave him be. We'll take him back to Metropolis with us."  
  
"Metropolis?" the boy repeated as he looked up at the tall man. This time, he could see the man's eyes-they were green. Not blue like his Father's. This wasn't Father-Father was dead and now this strange man was taking him to a place he had never even heard of! What about mother? She was dead, too, and now he was the only one in his family left.  
  
"Mother! Father!"  
  
He awoke with a start. He found himself breathing heavily, almost in a pant as he gazed around the room. He could hear beeping and the soft chatter, sound of wheels and doors opening and closing. He lay in a bed with light blue colours and he wore blue garments of the same shade. As he moved to sit up, he felt a sharp pain in his right arm and fell back down immediately, wincing from the pain.  
  
He could see through only one eye, for the other seemed impossible to open and was covered with something that tightly wrapped around his head. Through his one eye, he saw that both of his arms were bandaged and his left was in a sling wrapped around his neck. There was gauze bandaged to his neck, there were wires attached to his chest and arm. He could feel that his hair was matted and tangled. He could also see a figure to his left, leaning against the wall.  
  
"Take it easy, now. You'll only hurt yourself more if you don't," informed the figure, which was blurred by an intravenous bag with transparent liquid. The voice was vaguely familiar; somewhat low, phlegmatic, yet comforting-like that of a female he once knew.  
  
Slowly and more carefully this time, he sat up and leant forward to get a better look at her. "Mother?" he said quietly.  
  
She wore a knee-length mahogany jacket with belt, collar and full-length sleeves. Underneath that were navy blue shirt and pants over which a series of brown belts lay. One belt, the largest one, was fastened with a golden buckle securely at her waist while two more hung loosely from it. There was one strapped high on her right thigh with a silver buckle, and three on her shin just above the flap of her white boot. One pant leg was tucked inside the black-laced, black-soled boot while the other went to full ankle length.  
  
He then examined her hair-tied high on her head with a blue elastic and it spiked in all directions. Her bangs were like that of his mother's-a crescent moon part in the middle that then made small wisps to cover her ears slightly. She wore round sunglasses, unlike his, which were more square-like. Hers were more wiry. The features were also like those of his mother's, her brown hair of the same shade as him and his mother. If only he could see her eyes...  
  
The girl moved away from the wall and to his bedside. She gazed down at him with an emotionless face through the black of her glasses. "I'm not your mother-I'm a little too young. You've been out cold for weeks...The doctors had said you would be okay, but I highly doubted that, what with your first degree burns, cuts, scrapes, bruises and whatnot. Seems you proved me wrong. So, you feeling okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so..." he replied, looking away from her.  
  
She raised her head to face the window. "That was a pretty nasty explosion. Took out the whole city, and now hundreds are dead because of it. Many more are critically injured, such as you. But it's a wonder you survived-you were right at the heart of the blast. You got away with relatively minimal injuries, too, Rock."  
  
The blue-eyed boy turned his head rapidly, causing a sharp pain in his neck. Using his left hand, he massaged the area ruefully. "Who are you? How do know my name and so much else about me?"  
  
The girl gave him a sly smirk and took off her glasses. She sat down on his bed, though her head was lowered in the other direction, prohibiting Rock from seeing her face. She continued to smile as she shook with a silent chuckle. "You mean you never noticed me? You've got to spread your eyes, boy."  
  
"What do you mean? Answer me."  
  
She raised her head and looked him directly in the eye. Rock gasped. The emerald green of his mother's eyes lay in them along with her apathetic, yet kind personality. "I've had my eye on you for some time now. Ever since Detective Shunsaku Ban came to Metropolis, I've been watching all the events of this city closely. I observed Kenichi and his uncle, Tima and Dr. Laughton, Duke Red and his Marduks-up until the time the Ziggurat blew up."  
  
(A/N: I know they spell it Malduk, but I don't think that's right for two reasons. One-everyone in Metropolis clearly pronounces it Ma-R-duk, not Ma-L-duk. Two-the Babylonian God's name is Marduk, M-A-R-D-U-K, not Malduk, and I believe that that is where Metropolis got the name from. So, for those reasons, I call them Marduks.)  
  
"You were watching us the whole time? Then why didn't I ever see you?" Rock interrogated.  
  
She lay her arm on the bed, propping herself up with it as she sat and glared at him. "Oh, you probably did, you just didn't recognize me."  
  
Rock scowled at her and glanced at his bandaged, broken right arm. "You still haven't told me of your name."  
  
The girl looked away to the wall. "Yes...a name. I suppose you would like to know the name of your saviour..."  
  
Rock narrowed his eyes. "Could you possibly stop being so elusive? It's getting annoying."  
  
"Yes, of course. Forgive me, Rock. I was the one that found you in the wreckage of the city. If I had left you there without life support systems any longer, you probably wouldn't be here talking to me. And don't worry about Red, I got him out, too."  
  
"Father? You saved my Father?" Rock asked eagerly. He then remembered his real father from his dream and started to scowl again. "What about your name?"  
  
The girl put her sunglasses back on and stood up. "Name's Sanguine." With that, she headed for the door.  
  
"Wait! I want to talk to you more," Rock called. "There are some things I have to ask you."  
  
Without turning she answered, "Later. I'm going to see Duke Red, but I'll be back. We'll discuss your problems then."  
  
Rock sighed and lay back down. He glowered at the ceiling above him. "You don't understand my pain, Sanguine. Maybe if you did, you'd listen to me. Like my mother would," he mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes. Every aspect about her was like his mother, except for this one. "If you loved someone and hollowly as I did, you'd know." 


	2. Family Ties

2. Family Ties  
  
Sanguine walked down the hospital corridor a little ways and stopped in one doorway. She knocked on the door and peered inside. When she heard no reply, she pushed the slightly ajar door open and stepped inside. She walked over to the bed and stood at its foot, surveying the patient.  
  
The patient stirred and then opened his eyes slowly. Sanguine pushed her sunglasses onto her forehead and smiled. "Duke Red, sir-you're awake."  
  
Duke Red glared at her in surprise. "I-I...Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Sanguine, and I'm the one that pulled you from the wreckage of the Ziggurat," she replied as she pointed to herself loftily.  
  
Duke Red tried to push himself up, but fell back down again. Sanguine rushed to his side. "Watch out, sir! Don't try to get up just yet-doctor's orders."  
  
He stared straight ahead at the wall where Sanguine had been standing before. "Th-the Ziggurat! What happened to it?"  
  
"It was destroyed and took almost all of Metropolis with it. Your son- "  
  
"I don't have a son!" Duke Red interjected.  
  
"Sorry, sir...I mean Rock-he caused the explosion. It was him that pressed the self-destruct button, but you realize that it was to save your life, sir, I-"  
  
"This is called saving my life? Putting me in the hospital?!"  
  
"If he hadn't pushed that button, you would most definitely be dead. What do you think those robots would have done to you if he hadn't distracted them? You may be in a critical condition, but is it not better to be alive and hurt than dead?"  
  
Duke Red narrowed his eyes and sank back down into the pillow. "I suppose..."  
  
"If you don't mind me saying, sir, I'd like to speak on behalf of Rock. This is just my point of view-he may think differently, but...I don't think that you treated him very well. He did everything in the line of duty to protect you and you only repay him with the occasional mention and the respect of a servant. When you found out of Tima's existence, you hit Rock and told him that he didn't repay your kindness towards him. May I ask what kindness it was that you had been giving him, sir? And all for-"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"I said shut up," Duke Red repeated. "I know what you're going to say. That I did all this for the sake of a mere robot."  
  
Sanguine drew back. "Yes, sir...that's right. Tima was not worth your actions, not just towards Rock, but everyone else. She wasn't your real daughter and she can be rebuilt-humans cannot."  
  
Duke Red closed his eyes as if to think for a moment as both were silent. Then he chuckled. "You sound just like him. But what I'd like to know is how you, a young girl, could know all of this?"  
  
"I've been watching the goings-on of Metropolis for some time, now."  
  
Duke Red paused again before answering. "What happened to Tima?"  
  
Sanguine closed her eyes and looked to the window. "She's been destroyed. She took a huge fall into many explosions and hard pavement below from the top of the Ziggurat."  
  
"What about Rock? Is he still alive?"  
  
Sanguine turned back to the duke with a sly smile. "I thought you couldn't care less about him."  
  
"I have thought about what you've said and I believe that I should apologize to him," Duke Red replied with slight annoyance in his voice.  
  
"He's alive-I pulled him from the wreckage, too. He's in one of the rooms down the hall," she answered with a nod of her head in that direction. "He's in better condition than you and should recover quickly. It's just a fortunate coincidence that the both of you awoke from your comas on the same day. Should I bring your apology to him?"  
  
"That won't be necessary. I'd like to give it to him personally. Say, um...what was your name again?"  
  
"Sanguine."  
  
"Ah, yes...Sanguine...How would you like to be the new Marduk leader? As a replacement for Rock?"  
  
"Euh...I'd...I'd be deeply honoured to carry that position, Duke Red, sir, but won't Rock want it?"  
  
"He won't be able to in his condition."  
  
"I suppose you're right...Okay, then. Sure! I'd love to be the new Marduk leader!" she cried in a jubilant tone. "Is that all, sir? If it is, you should get some more rest."  
  
"Yes, but one more thing; you'll need a Marduk uniform. Is my mansion still intact?"  
  
"I believe so. If it is, there are some things that need repairing..."  
  
"Right, then. Go there and talk to the maid called Enmy. Tell the guards that I sent you. If they ask you for proof, say, 'Tiamat'. Tell them I order the mansion to have repairs done immediately. Did the doctors say when I could leave the hospital?"  
  
"Two more weeks, I think it was."  
  
"Very well. Is shall get a headstart and get my rest, then. Good-day, Sanguine, the new Marduk leader."  
  
Sanguine headed for the door and made a small bow. "Fare thee, well, Duke Red, sir. Get well soon." With that, she slipped out the door and into the corridor.  
  
*  
  
Rock tried to sit up for the second time in one long day. He propped himself up with his left, undamaged arm, but still winced from the pain of moving his right arm even slightly. His reason for getting up was something he heard coming from the hall; footsteps that came closer to the door. He eyed the half-closed door eagerly, hoping for it to be that girl.  
  
As the door swung open, he foolishly threw himself back down on the bed, trying to make it look as if he hadn't got up in the first place. The figure swung itself inside and stared in confusion as he cringed and groaned in pain. He bit his lip, only causing more malaise.  
  
He heard an amused giggle from the figure as they closed the door behind them. "There's no use trying to hide it, Rock. You were waiting for me and your determination to hide it only came back to hurt you."  
  
There it was-the comforting and familiar voice. Rock turned his head warily. "You're back..."  
  
Sanguine strode over to the bed and sat at the edge again. "That's right. I believe you wanted me to do so."  
  
Rock nodded his head as he gazed longingly into her green eyes.  
  
"Now, what was it you wanted to ask me about?"  
  
Rock looked away from her and to his broken arm. "I want to know about you, and...why you were spying on me."  
  
"I wasn't spying on you, but simply 'observing'."  
  
"Okay then, why were you 'observing'?"  
  
Sanguine turned her head to the floor and took her sunglasses off her head. She began to polish them with her jacket. "Well, I had nothing much else to do, I suppose. Thought I might as well just lie low and watch what happened in the city."  
  
"Why were you in Metropolis?"  
  
"Metropolis isn't my hometown. I actually live in another country, but I just came here because my parents thought I could use the experience. They said that although our city was pretty advanced, Metropolis was even more so, and so they sent me here to live for a couple of years. It was to make me see what I took for granted back home."  
  
"Where did you live before?"  
  
"Somewhere."  
  
"Rock eyed her suspiciously. "Where is this 'Somewhere'?"  
  
Sanguine looked to him, green eyes penetrating the blue, like grass reaching the sky. She smiled. "Why would you want to know? You're just like my father, always wanting to know everything about what's happened to me."  
  
"Well, I can imagine him having good reason to. You should be grateful that he cares so much for you." Rock paused. "Father..." he then whispered. "What it would be to have a father that loves and cares for me..."  
  
Sanguine's eyes widened immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rock, I forgot-"  
  
"That's okay, don't worry about it. I can get over minor things like that. How else am I just like your father?"  
  
"Well, you look like him. He has the same brown hair and blue eyes as you. Your solemn personalities are the same, but you can be humorous when you feel like it. The only difference I think is that you are more way more ruthless and he has a beard," she said with a small laugh.  
  
Rock smiled and waited for her to look back to him. "You know, that's funny, because you remind me of my mother-from what little I can remember."  
  
"So that's why you called me mother... Tell me about her."  
  
Rock viewed his left hand as he clenched and unclenched it torpidly. "She had green eyes and brown hair about the same length as yours. She liked to tie her hair back near the end of the ponytail low on her head with a red ribbon. It trailed just down past her shoulderblades. Your voices are even alike. They sound the same to me, at least. Your personalities are the same in almost every aspect, except that you're more elusive.  
  
"I watched her death right before my eyes. One of my Father's Marduks shot her with his rifle. I was in her arms when it went right through her head. Once that happened, she fell on top of me, blood staining me even more from when my Father died in my arms. He was killed by a robot."  
  
Sanguine's eyes reflected horror and empathy. "I'm sorry you had to witness that, Rock... Let alone be in such close quarters at the time... That's terrible...And done by Duke Red and his Marduks, you say?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then why are you loyal to them?"  
  
"I didn't know that at the time. I thought that Duke Red was my father, since they looked so much alike. Seeing that robot, though, that was one of the things that made me realize I was being loyal to the wrong person."  
  
"And that's where your hatred for robots came from? From the one that killed your father?"  
  
"Yeah...you just can't trust them, mother."  
  
Sanguine ogled him questionably.  
  
It was only when Rock looked up that he realized what he had said. "Oh, sorry...there I go again...it's just so hard..."  
  
"That's okay." Sanguine replied as she reached her hand out. Rock watched vigilantly as it came closer to his face and hovered above his forehead. He glimpsed her brush away his bangs that covered the eyepatch and analyze it.  
  
Her eyes narrowed and displayed her compassion as she gave a small sigh. She traced her index finger along a scar on his forehead that had been concealed by his hair. After closing his eye momentarily, Rock's single eye cast its gaze back from Sanguine's hand to her face. Sanguine then took her hand away, letting the brown strands of hair fall back into place.  
  
Rock's cheeks suddenly felt warm, too warm for comfort. "What is it?"  
  
Sanguine's expression softened. "I was just taking a look at your eyepatch and wound. The doctor says that you'll regain your vision once you're out of the hospital. I'm worried that won't be the case, though."  
  
"Hey, I proved you wrong before, and why should you be worried about me? I should be concerned, not you." Rock's cheeks now felt even warmer-he felt that they were surely on fire. 'She cares this much and she's only just met me? No one's ever been this sympathetic towards me...' "Besides, if I do die, no one will care."  
  
Sanguine reached out again, this time for his broken right arm. She ran her hand down it slowly, making Rock flinch slightly. "Don't say that, Rock. There's someone for everyone, even though they may not know it."  
  
The pain in his arm stopped as her hand reached his bandaged one. He lifted his head to see her hand grasped tightly around his. "I-I..." he stammered.  
  
Her hand tightened around his. He swallowed and wandered into her eyes. Her wanful gaze was vacant as she stared at his eye. "S-sanguine?" he called softly.  
  
Sanguine blinked and came back to her seemingly conscious self. "Eh? Oh...yes, get better soon, Rock." With that, she drew her hand away quickly, as if disgusted and left the room.  
  
Rock stared at the door, her having closed it swiftly behind her as if nothing had happened. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears as he tried hard to hold them back. He lay back on the pillow and turned his head to the ceiling, blinking away the tears and letting them run down his bloodstained cheek. 


	3. Leader Of The Marduks

Why is it that no one reviews my well-thought out stories? It's like my curse or something!  
  
3. The Leader of the Marduks  
  
Sanguine stepped out of the rotating hospital doors and did a double take at what was standing in front of her. On the roundabout driveway was parked a white stretch limousine in the most magnificent splendour she had ever thought possible.  
  
She saw a man dressed fully in black look up from the photograph in his oversized, gloved hand as he stood beside the limo. He noticed her and began to approach her. She backed away and into the hospital door. The man stopped when he stood a foot away from her and she stared up at him in fear and surprise.  
  
"Are you Sanguine, the one that pulled Duke Red from the wreckage of the Ziggurat?" he implored firmly in a gruff voice.  
  
Sanguine nodded briskly and pushed herself further into the door, almost causing it to spin.  
  
"Then you're to come with me," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the limo. He opened the door, let go off her and ordered her to get in. She did so, and he slammed the door behind her.  
  
Sanguine sat on the edge of her seat, glancing around uneasily. She was pondering who these men were and what they wanted. They appeared to be the bodyguards of Duke Red, but appearances could be deceiving.  
  
*  
  
The limo finally stopped when it pulled up in front of a once elegant mansion. The same man opened the door for Sanguine and she stepped out, taking off her sunglasses to ogle the sight. She stepped away from the limo and forward slowly up the walkway.  
  
She gazed around at the wreck of a garden that had been destroyed by the flames of the Ziggurat nearby. It was beautiful, nonetheless. She came to the steps of the mansion and stood staring up at the large, white, wooden door.  
  
"You're welcome to go in, you know," she heard someone say from behind her.  
  
She turned to see the black-garmented man standing sternly behind her, prohibiting any chance of escape. She drew a sharp breath in and gave a curt nod. She turned back and pressed the button on the intercom. "H- hello? May I speak to the maid called Enmy, please?"  
  
There was some static and then a gruff male voice replied. "Enmy? What for?"  
  
Before Sanguine could answer, the guard replied. "She has been sent by Duke Red as the new Marduk recruit."  
  
"And we know this, how...?" the intercom's voice trailed off suspiciously.  
  
"Tiamat," Sanguine answered simply.  
  
"'Tiamat'?" The intercom man repeated.  
  
"Yes, Tiamat. That's what Duke Red told me to say if I needed proof of his statement," explained Sanguine.  
  
"Very well, then. Qingu, you're her escort," the man ordered as the doors swung open to reveal an exquisite hall.  
  
Sanguine stepped inside and then turned to the man behind her. "Qingu? Is that what your name is?"  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"Just asking. I need Enmy. Do you know where she is?"  
  
"Follow me," Qingu answered flatly, as if extremely bored. He took the lead and strode down the hall.  
  
"Oh, and Duke Red says to begin reconstruction of the mansion right away," Sanguine added innocently. The servants and guards that had been standing in the hall bowed before her and parted in different directions of the doorways.  
  
*  
  
Qingu knocked on a wooden door on one of the top levels of the mansion. "Enmy? Someone here to see you. Sent by Duke Red."  
  
There was a shuffle and then footsteps before the door opened to reveal a brown-haired lady in a brown and white dress. She opened the door to full extent and peered down at Sanguine who was about and centimetre or so shorter. "Who? This young girl?"  
  
"That's right, new Marduk recruit. Send 'er to Devin when you're done," Qingu replied as he sauntered away down the hall.  
  
"Devin? Why Devin? Shouldn't Rock be the one to handle the training?" Enmy questioned, raising her voice to be heard by the man halfway down the hall.  
  
"He's in the hospital. Kind of hard to handle it from there," Qingu answered as he turned to trudge down the staircase at the end of the hall and disappear from sight.  
  
Sanguine looked back to Enmy, who sighed and shook her head at the man. She glanced back at Sanguine and motioned for her to enter the room. "Don't mind him. He's just a little annoyed I guess since Duke Red selected a female for the occupation of Marduk leader." Enmy closed the door silently and stepped over to the closet. "Personally, I'm quite fond of the idea. It'll make a nice change to have another girl around here for once. And in command, too!"  
  
Sanguine simpered politely and made a small chuckle at Enmy's comment. "I can imagine...Too many men around here?"  
  
"That's right," Enmy responded as she took something from a hanger at the back of the closet and turned to face Sanguine. "The only female ever around here had been Tima and the Duchess, but they're dead now," she adjoined, suddenly turning to a more sullen note.  
  
Enmy moved to the bed silently to set the outfit down. "I've been saving this uniform for the day when we'd hopefully have a female Marduk leader, and my wish has finally come true. You're welcome to sit down on the bed, um..."  
  
"Excuse my rudeness-I'm Sanguine," the girl replied, sitting on the bed warily. "Could you possibly tell me about the Duchess?"  
  
"Sure, uh...could you take your jacket off, please? Put this one on instead," Enmy instructed, handing Sanguine a red bolero. "Well, she died shortly after Tima had..."  
  
Sanguine took off her long mahogany jacket and fit the red one on. It was red with full sleeves that had been rolled up at the ends to reveal the darker inner lining. It had a stiff collar and the Marduk symbol on the left breast. "Oh?"  
  
Enmy stepped back to survey how it looked on her. "Yes, yes that's good..." She looked up and indicated to a dressing panel on the far wall opposite her four-poster, curtained bed. "You see that? Take these and dress into them." Enmy handed Sanguine a neatly folded set of black and red garments as Sanguine gave back the red Marduk jacket.  
  
Sanguine moved behind the screen and Enmy heard a shuffle of clothes before she continued to speak. "You see, Duchess Red's death was because of their only daughter, Tima's," she informed as she arranged some accessories she had laid out on the bed. "The Duchess was so heartbroken that she committed suicide, despite Duke Red's great attempts to console her. It was terrible-she poisoned herself with a glass of wine and would have done so to her husband, too, had he not left the room briefly. The cyanide entered and shut down her system unbelievably fast. She was dead on the floor when Duke Red returned a few minutes later."  
  
Enmy looked up as Sanguine stepped out from behind the panel. She wore a collared black shirt with relatively short sleeves, black nylons and a red skirt of the same shade as the jacket. She was holding up the skirt which was loose, had belt loops and ended halfway down her thighs. She strode up to Enmy. "I hope this comes with a belt or something, or those Marduk men will be a lot more interested in their leader than their task at hand," Sanguine said with a worried look.  
  
"Don't worry about that," Enmy laughed. She motioned for Sanguine to stand closer as she took some olive-green suspenders from the bed. She hooked them to the skirt, the two bands stretching across the front over the swells of Sanguine's chest and the one band down her back.  
  
Sanguine let go of the skirt's waistband and scrutinized the suspenders, running her hands down them. "At least the skirt stays up, now, but it's still loose."  
  
"That's why you have a belt," Enmy stated, looping the brown, gold- buckled belt through the rings of the skirt and clasping it at the front. She then attached a pouch to the belt-on Sanguine's left. She added one more thing to Sanguine's right; a gun holster, minus the gun.  
  
Sanguine looked up to Enmy. "Shouldn't there be a gun in this holster?"  
  
"Not yet. You need the target practice, first. That shall be given to you by one of the current Marduks. Then the gun shall be yours to own, yours to keep. Here, put these on," Enmy directed, giving Sanguine a pair of gloves.  
  
No sooner had Sanguine put the black gloves on then Enmy handed her a pair of boots like those of Rock's Marduk uniform. Sanguine stepped into them, seeing that they came to just below her knees. She rocked back and forth in them, trying to get a feel and to see if they fit. Enmy then handed back the bolero, which Sanguine put on once more.  
  
"Give me your arm," Enmy ordered, and Sanguine outstretched her right arm. Enmy fit a black armband with the red Marduk symbol over her hand and slid it up her arm over the jacket sleeve. Enmy adjusted it on her arm so that the Marduk symbol faced the outside, just as Rock's had.  
  
Enmy stepped back and placed her hands akimbo. Sanguine turned around and spread her arms wide. "Well...? What do you think, Enmy?"  
  
Enmy cocked her head to one side and reached to the bed again. "Undo your hair."  
  
Sanguine pulled the blue elastic out and lowered her head for Enmy to reach. Enmy positioned the hat on her head so that the red jewel face the front. It was like the hat that the other Marduks (except for Rock) wore. Enmy then reached for Sanguine's sunglasses on the bed and fit them to her. She stepped back again to analyze her.  
  
Enmy clapped her hands together and smiled. "I do believe that this is it! You look exactly like a female Marduk should. Like a female Rock, if I do say so myself."  
  
Sanguine made a polite laugh again and returned the smile. She was then ushered out of the room by Enmy with her old clothes.  
  
*  
  
"You wait out here, okay?" Enmy instructed Sanguine as she opened a large steel door with turntable handle to step inside.  
  
Enmy stood near the door and cleared her throat, preparing to raise her voice. "Men, I would ask your attention, please!" Enmy vociferated over the bang of gunshots, impact of targets and orders of the sub-leader. Almost at once, the four men in Marduk uniforms froze, lowered their guns and turned to the door where Enmy was standing.  
  
'She may not look like it, but boy, is she loud...' Sanguine thought to herself as she listened through the crack in the door.  
  
"Marduks, I would first like to say, that as you may know, your leader is no longer Rock," started Enmy.  
  
There was a murmur among the Marduks at this comment. "Though that doesn't mean you are without a leader, for Duke Red has hired someone who he trusts-so he should because they are the one that pulled him from the wreckage. This new leader, since they have had no prior training, will be taking lessons from Devin for the next few days until they are up to your calibre, at which point they will take training with you."  
  
"Euh, Enmy! What about Rock? What happened and where is he?" one of the Marduks asked.  
  
Enmy cast a stern glance at him. "He's in the hospital being treated for his gunshot wound and other injuries from the destruction of the Ziggurat. So is Duke Red. And I'm sure that you all know it was Sam that inflicted Rock's gunshot wound," Enmy explained, casting an angered look at the brown haired, bearded, blue-eyed Marduk, who returned the scowl.  
  
"Yes, and I hope you know that Rock dressed up as you to infiltrate the Ziggurat throne room?" the blonde, blue-eyed Marduk named Devin called. "How can we be sure that it's not you in there, Rock?"  
  
There was uproarious laughter from all of the Marduks at this comment with a murderous glower from Enmy. "Laugh all you want now, but it will be short-lived. You may enter now, Sanguine."  
  
The laughter slowly died away a brown-haired, blue-eyed Marduk turned to the one beside him. "'Sanguine'? What kind of name is that for a man?"  
  
""Sanguine' is a synonym for 'blood'. Maybe that's what his parents were going for," the other one, brown-haired and brown-eyed replied.  
  
"Yeah, but 'sanguine' also means bubbly and cheerful. God, I sure hope that's not the case with our new leader. If it is, or if he's a girl, I'm quitting the Marduks right away. There's no way I'm going to be ordered around by some...some..." the Marduk was silenced when he saw who stood in the doorway.  
  
In fact, that was the case with all four of the Marduk men as Sanguine entered the room nervously. She took off her sunglasses and stood staring at them with her hands clasped in front of her innocently. Enmy took one look around the room and smirked. "Say hello to your new leader, Sanguine. I'm going to leave now, so you boys play nice and make her feel welcome, alright?" Enmy taunted as she slipped out through the door. She then paused and lowered her voice so that only the embarrassed Sanguine could hear. "Don't worry, dear. If they upset you, tell me and I'll make sure Duke Red punishes them accordingly."  
  
Sanguine gave a stiff nod and made a choked, "Yes" as Enmy closed the door entirely.  
  
The second Marduk out of the pair that had been gossiping before leant over to the first and without turning his head, asked, "A-are you sure you want to leave the Marduks now, Patrick?"  
  
"N-no, O-Orion..." the other Marduk replied, shaking his head vigorously. "I don't think so..."  
  
Devin finally cleared his throat and made a gallant stride forward to the petrified teen. "Well, hello, there, Sanguine," he introduced, his voice thick and rather shaky. "As you may know, my name is Devin, and I will be giving you basic training on the handling of a gun. Heh-I'll make a rock-hard gunner out of you yet...get it? Rock-hard?" He laughed dryly at his own joke.  
  
Sanguine didn't laugh or even smile politely, too preoccupied with staring in horror at the men gawking back at her that she was to command rather then paying attention to Devin's attempt to ease the tension. Devin scratched the back of his head nervously and made a small chuckle as he glanced at his fellow Marduks. "Well, then, I suppose we should get started, Sanguine?" He turned fully to the rest of the group, finally regaining his courage. "Sam, you're in charge while I'm busy. Continue target practice." With that, he ushered Sanguine out of the room.  
  
Sam shook his head to return to reality and started to command the rest of the group. "Come on, ladies, you heard him! And not that Rock wasn't a good leader before, but now we have more purpose to commit to our commander!"  
  
"Yeah-and how do we know that you aren't going to shoot our new leader like you did the last one?" Orion called out.  
  
"He's not gonna shoot her, mate! She's too damn beautiful! Even Sam has a heart that could understand that! And I'll bet you if Rock had been a girl, he'd have spared him, too!" Patrick countered, earning another long wave of laughter among the Marduks.  
  
*  
  
"Here you go, your own gun. It was Rock's, but we can get a new one if he decides he wants it back once he's well enough to manage it," Devin said, handing Sanguine the gun that had belonged to the boy. "I picked it up when I went to carry him away before the destruction of the Ziggurat."  
  
Sanguine reached out as Devin placed the firearm in her hands. She analyzed it curiously, holding it at arm's length as if it were to come alive and shoot her. "Um..." She was a at a loss for words.  
  
Devin reached into his belt to pull out his gun. He aimed at the target in front of him. "It's simple, just copy me. Centre the target..."  
  
Sanguine positioned the gun in her right hand so that her index finger was on the trigger while her other fingers and thumb curled around the but of the gun-just like she had seen in all the media. "Centre the target..." she muttered softly to herself, closing one eye to squint through the other.  
  
"That's right, now when you're sure you have it, pull the trigger..." Devin cocked his trigger, causing Sanguine to make a small jump as the innocent, yet threatening pop sounded. It hit the wooden target in front of them dead on, which then sunk into the floor as another appeared to take its place, this time of a different robot model.  
  
Sanguine re-aimed the gun, having lost the centre when she jumped. "Pull the trigger..." Another pop as she squeezed the trigger gently. Her stomach lurched and her heart skipped a beat as she was hit with the recoil from the blast.  
  
The gun flew out of her hand and her to the ground. She stared ahead with wide eyes as the target in front of her seeped into the floor only to be replaced with a new one. Devin walked over to where the handgun had fallen and picked it up. He strode back to where Sanguine sat quite shaken on the floor and helped her up. He handed her the gun once more. "Here-try again. Only this time, maybe you should put both hands on the gun-just while you're getting used to the recoil. Otherwise, if you do this every time you fire a shot, you'll find that your target won't be the one going down."  
  
Sanguine to the gun back with her quivering hand and mimicked Devin's actions. Both centred on the Albert 2 model and pulled the triggers of their handguns. With two black marks on its head, the robot sunk down into the floor as another appeared. They did exactly the same as before. "That's right...centre target, pull..." Devin chided softly. Soon target after target came up, and Devin stopped firing as Sanguine began to gain courage and speed.  
  
Sanguine had fired one particularly rapid shot when Devin raised his hand to stop her. He stepped over to what seemed to be a control panel on the left of the room to press a button. "Now we move on. You must realize that you may have more than one target in robot dilemmas and that they won't all be enclosed in the same spot. This next training exercise will prepare you for that type of situation.  
  
"Robot model targets will appear around the room, and you are to take them down. Keep in mind that you must also mind your partners, so to help you remember that, I shall be standing here." Just as Devin had said, robot targets started to materialize all around the walls of the room. "Very well, begin," Devin commanded.  
  
Sanguine lifted her arms and aimed at the first target. She was about to fire when it went back down without being shot. She lowered her hands and turned to Devin behind her. "What happened?"  
  
"Nothing. You weren't quick enough. Perhaps I failed to mention that the second trick to phase two is speed. Those robots aren't going to stand still for you to incapacitate them," he replied coolly.  
  
Sanguine whipped back around and fired instantly, taking down the robot she hadn't before. She turned to the next one, aiming quickly and pulling the trigger. She whirled around and around the room, narrowly missing Devin's head once or twice, who stood completely still, watching her smugly.  
  
When she had finally terminated all of the robots, she lowered her hands and placed them on her knees, bending over to catch her breath.  
  
"Not so easy, is it?" asked Devin, smirking.  
  
Sanguine shook her head, not raising it so that she kept staring at the floor. She paused a moment longer before taking one huge breath in and clenching her hand in a fist as she turned to Devin. "But I'm ready for more!"  
  
"Okay then, if you're sure. Follow me, then," Devin instructed, shutting the systems down and leading her out of the room.  
  
He took her back to the other target room, where the other Marduks were. When they entered, the other Marduks froze and looked up at them. "We're back, and I have a new Marduk recruit with me. She's ready to join our skilled ranks now-thinks she can handle it," he told the rest of the group. He turned to her. "You ready? I'm heading off to the control room, so go to Sam-he'll explain the exercise to you."  
  
Sanguine nodded and stepped up to the bearded, blue-eyed man. "Devin said you were to explain to me the exercise," she said simply.  
  
Sam, who had had his attention elsewhere whipped around with a start. "Oh...well, basically, virtual targets will appear around the room and you have to shoot at them with these simulation guns. They'll move in the exact ways that a malfunctioning robot would, and they fire back, depending on the type of robot they are. You're still able to shoot other Marduks, though unlike the real thing, they won't die. It's a recreation of what would happen exactly on the field."  
  
Sanguine placed Rock's gun in her holster and took the simulation gun from Sam's outstretched hand. She turned as she heard a countdown from Devin in the control room and glanced at the other Marduks. They were standing before her, ready to receive orders.  
  
"You being the leader, have to tell us what to do," Orion informed.  
  
"Oh-right!" She held the simulation gun out in front of her ready to fire at the first robot she saw and her voice suddenly became deep and loud as she gained her first taste of command. "Alright men, spread out. Guns at the ready and fire!"  
  
Suddenly, the environment o the room changed from throne room-like appearance to an area in Zone 1 in flames. Albert 2 models and other waste disposal models were going haywire. Sanguine saw one of the robots toss a large, heavy object her way. She ducked, and it flew over her head. She then lunged forward and fired at the one that had attacked first. There was a loud clanking sound, then a small explosion within the robot, and then it froze in mid-step, steaming.  
  
On seeing her triumph, Sanguine moved on to the next target that was beginning to approach her. She ducked in and out of the other Marduks as they passed by her. No one shot each other and they were progressing well.  
  
Sanguine felt comfortable in this new light, now. She felt as if the recoil of the gun was like a comforting, yet firm arm slap instead of a petrifying, vengeful death sentence. "Centre target...pull, switch...centre target...pull, switch..." she kept mumbling to herself throughout the exercise.  
  
*  
  
Before stepping out the doors of the mansion, Sanguine turned to the doorman. "Duke Red wants every able-bodied person in the city to be working on the reconstruction of Metropolis and the Ziggurat 24/7. Got that?"  
  
The doorman nodded and Sanguine, satisfied, strode down the steps. She swung her Marduk hat back on after having taken it off to fan herself with it and replaced her sunglasses in front of her eyes to shield them from the bright orange setting sun. As she walked down the long pathway that led to the main gate, she massaged her arms which now hurt from handling the gun all afternoon. Her original streetclothes were nestled in the crook of her arm since she was wearing her new Marduk uniform, ready to flaunt it at any chance she got. A stroll through the streets of Metropolis was definitely one of the good ways to do it.  
  
As she exited through the front gate, she turned when someone called her name. "Sanguine! Sanguine! There you are!"  
  
She could see that it was a boy-shorter and most probably younger than her but still a good friend. She turned to fully face him. "Yeah? It's me, Sanguine. What is it, Kenichi?"  
  
Kenichi froze when he had finally reached her and realized what she was wearing. "Euh... Why are you dressed like a Marduk? Namely Rock?"  
  
"Ah, well, you see...that's because I am a Marduk. Namely Marduk leader."  
  
Kenichi's mouth dropped open. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you, I really am, but I thought that you were on our side..."  
  
"I am, I am, but I can be a Marduk, can't I? Think of it as extra protection-I can handle a gun, now! And, since I have absolute control over those Marduk men, I can command them not to harm you or Tima-once she's built."  
  
"Oh..." Kenichi replied, sounding slightly discouraged and distant as he stared at her new garments. After a few more moments, he began to chuckle.  
  
Sanguine took off her sunglasses and glowered at him. "I fail to see what's so funny."  
  
"If I didn't know that Rock was in the hospital, I'd say that he was under that outfit," he managed to say before his laughter became uncontrollable.  
  
That only made her scowl even more. She walked past him and down the street to where she had been staying with Kenichi. "Watch your mouth, or I'll be having a lot more fun with my new firearm than expected, Kenichi!"  
  
Kenichi calmed down and started to traipse after her, still having small bursts of giggles. "Is that a death threat? I thought it was extra protection you were granting me?"  
  
"That is extra protection. If I kill you first, then the Marduks can't get you, can they? Nor can anyone else, so you're safe from death. Now will you please just zip it and show me your wonderful surprise?" Sanguine asked rather matter-of-factly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ugh...Two words...too much swearing...Zero would have been enough...But the Marduks are "evil", aren't they? Normally in these sorts of things, evil guys swear-mind you, good guys do, too, but... Oh yeah-sorry, I made a mistake before on the profanity count for Metropolis. I made a mistake by counting the time Rock said, "Gods". It turns out that he wasn't cussing, but praying. Whoops-sorry, Rock, so there are only three profanities in Metropolis. 


	4. You're Hired

YARGH! ANOTHER MISCOUNT! It turns out there actually *are* five swear words in Metropolis! I forgot to count the word that Atlas' friend calls Pero and  
the rest of the robots! He strictly says, "We lost our jobs to you ______!" (I'll let you watch the movie yourself)  
  
Oh yeah-one more side note about property rights: The Marduks named henceforth (with the exception of Lance) are the property of I, evangel- blader. An asterisk shall indicate this beside their name in their debut appearance (If I remember). The Marduks named previously (Devin, Sam, Patrick, Orion) are characters from the movie but weren't named, so I named them. Devin is the only blonde haired dude, Sam is the with the moustache and two different hair colours that shot Rock in the Ziggurat, Patrick is the brown-haired, blue-eyed man that stands to Minister Skunk's right in the assassination of President Boon, and Orion is the brown-haired, brown- eyed chap to the right of the screen when Lamp was shot (the other fellow is Lance).  
  
One more thing: HAH! I SPELT MARDUK RIGHT! If you go to www.metropolis- movie.com, you'll clearly see that they spell it "M-A-R-D-U-K", not "M-A-L- D-U-K". That website is the official one, too! The manufacturers of the DVD spelt it incorrectly, so that's the third and final reason as to why I'm right. Heh-like I'm ever wrong!  
  
Hah! Before I forget-reviews! Thank you so very much to Rocku-I appreciate your comment about my writing style very much! *sobbing* I don't know how I can ever repay you...the first reviewer out of three chapters...WAAAAAAAAAH! It's a tragedy!  
  
4. You're Hired  
  
"Hang on, keep your eyes closed," Kenichi cajoled as he led Sanguine to the mysterious location.  
  
"Just tell me what it is, Kenichi. Will it kill you?" Sanguine replied as she stepped warily with her eyes closed.  
  
Kenichi opened the door to the room and switched on the light. "Okay, you can open them, now."  
  
Sanguine's eyes fluttered open rapidly and she made a small gasp as she stepped backward. Kenichi glanced at her expression and stepped forward towards what sat on the table in front of them. "What's wrong? This is my surprise and I agree that the initial view is a bit disturbing, but..."  
  
Sanguine stepped forward cautiously and slowly. She analyzed the object that sat upright on the table before her with wide eyes. Sanguine let her clothes drop to the floor beside her as her hands lay limp at her sides. "Y-you never told me of this, Kenichi..."  
  
"Well, like I said, it was a surprise, " Kenichi said as he ran his fingers along one of the sturdy steel bars of the object. "I had to fight myself not to ask for your help. I wanted to see your face when you saw that she was finally rebuilt."  
  
Sanguine's shocked face softened into one of sympathy and joy. "Tima's rebuilt...The only thing you need now is her exterior," she said, turning to Kenichi.  
  
He nodded. "Unfortunately I don't know how I'll do that. I don't know what materials Dr. Laughton originally used. And he's dead, so I can hardly ask him."  
  
At that point Sanguine reached for her jacket on the floor. Kenichi watched as her hand slipped inside one of the inside pockets and pulled out a small red book. She stood up and waved it in front of Kenichi's face. "That's what this is for."  
  
"That's his notebook!" Kenichi gasped. "But how did you get that? It was in the Ziggurat explosion!"  
  
Sanguine pulled it back towards herself and looked at it admiringly. "Yeah, I know. I saw your uncle throw it across the floor at Duke Red. Luckily, like Duke Red and Rock, it survived the explosion, just as it had Dr. Laughton's lab explosion. It's a miracle, but don't let me stand in the way. I found it in the wreckage of the Ziggurat when I was searching for survivors. I was keeping it for a time like this, which has now come. Go on, take it, Kenichi."  
  
Kenichi stared at it a moment and then reached out for it to relieve it of her outstretched hand. "Thank you. Should I give it back when I'm done?"  
  
Sanguine took off her hat and then her bolero just before she flopped down on the couch. "If you want. I don't particularly need it. If you're having trouble, just ask me for help, or...say, when are you going back to Japan again?"  
  
"In around two weeks," he replied, flipping through the pages of the book.  
  
"Well, if you don't finish it by then, you should take it back to Japan with you. Maybe your Uncle Shunsaku could help you. You're coming back to Metropolis after, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you here with no one to be friends with. And by then, hopefully my uncle would have helped me to finish Tima," Kenichi answered, looking up from the pages of the book.  
  
"Ah, don't worry about li'l old me. I can take care of myself, I don't need a friend around to be happy, especially since they'll only interfere with my new job. I'm a Marduk now, remember?" Sanguine sighed airily with a wave of her hand. "You just worry about the reconstruction of your best friend, Tima."  
  
Kenichi lowered his head, though kept his eyes on her, smiled gingerly and blushed. "Uh...yeah. I will. Tima'll be as good as new in no time."  
  
*  
  
Two weeks later...  
  
"Raise that window, men! It has to align with the frame of that one up there! No! No! No! You're supposed to be working on the rebuilding of the Ziggurat, not the conference centre, sir. What's that? Duke Red you say? Oh, he's still in hospital as far as I know. Patrick! Stop fooling around and keep your focus on those supplies you're handling!" Sanguine shouted as construction went on all around her.  
  
She sighed and went to sit down in one of the resting stations off to the side. She took off her hat to lay back in the chair and fan herself with it. Devin approached her, surveying the movement of people, robots and other machines around them. Sanguine looked up at him. "What is it, Devin? Don't expect me to give a big long lecture, because my throat is killing me. I've been yelling commands all day."  
  
"Don't worry, I won't. I've just come to tell you that our Marduk numbers are dwindling and that Duke Red wants us to recruit new members," he explained, also taking his hat off to fan himself.  
  
Sanguine sat up and lay her hands in a position to push herself up at the ready. "How does he expect us to do that? Will we carry out auditions or something? Or do we simply pick them up off the street?"  
  
"Well, the whole city is almost fully rebuilt and so we'll have to choose from the survivors on both levels of ZONE-1 and the ground level. We just have to finish the new Ziggurat and some of the political buildings. He didn't specify how he wanted it done, so I'll leave it up to you. By the way, have you gone to see him lately?"  
  
"No. I've been too busy with the supervising of the city's reconstruction to visit either him or Rock. I don't even know whether they're out of the hospital or not."  
  
Devin looked up at the sky. "Don't look at me-I've no clue." He paused. "Rock..." He then lowered his head to make eye contact with her. "Should we rehire him? Sorry- I mean you-are you going to rehire him?"  
  
"What do you mean? Him take up his old position as Marduk leader? And isn't it up to Duke Red to decide who's in and who's out?"  
  
"No, not necessarily. The leader can also decide. He doesn't have to take your position, just for him to be a Marduk."  
  
"Oh," Sanguine mumbled, lowering her head to stare at her lap. "If you don't mind me being leader, then sure. I had that idea in mind myself. Once he's out of the hospital I'll talk to him. I want you and the other Marduks to stop your roles in reconstruction and set out in search for the new recruits. You are to interview them and then test their natural skills in target gunning. We do not have time to train them since robots will be running around these streets with many people, too. You are to bring the recruits to me when you are sure that they are Marduk material, do you understand?"  
  
Devin stood erectly and replaced his military hat on his head. "Yes, ma'am."  
  
Sanguine stood up and glared up at him in the eye. "How many recruits do we need?"  
  
"Duke Red wants a total of twelve Marduks. There are five of us already-Patrick, Sam, Orion, you, and I. We would have had two more but they were killed by robots in the Ziggurat rampage. If you can manage to convince Rock to rejoin us, then that will leave room for six new recruits."  
  
"Very well. You gather the rest of the Marduks and begin the selection process in the training rooms of Duke Red's mansion, Devin. I trust that you shall be able to make the right decisions without me there?" Sanguine asked, starting to walk away.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Devin answered with a sharp salute. Devin watched her depart a moment before losing his composure. "Oh, um...Sanguine?"  
  
She stopped and turned, throwing her hat back on. "Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, I've been meaning to ask..." He paused, foolishly allowing his face to become a bright red. "If um...i-if Rock were to be in the hospital for the rest of his life..." He hesitated again, thinking seriously about what he was about to say.  
  
"Yeah? What if Rock were to be in the hospital for the rest of his life...?"  
  
Devin suddenly found his shoes very interesting. "Uh...um...would your arm still hurt?!" he blurted, not what he had been intending to say.  
  
Sanguine seemed stunned at the comment. "Uh...I guess it would for a while, but now I've become used to the recoil, so...I don't really see how my arm's pain would tie in with where Rock spent the rest of his life, though..."  
  
"Oh. Uh...that's just one of my problems-don't you mind me. You just worry yourself about recruiting Rock, ma'am..."  
  
She simpered sympathetically and turned to stride away.  
  
*  
  
He sobbed into his mother's brown hair that was of the same shade as his own. He lifted her head to stare into her wide, otherworldly eyes that the blood from her forehead was now beginning to run over and stain the watery surface of. He watched with overwhelming tears as the emerald green that they were now gave way to crimson red.  
  
The shiny red fluid slowly concealed the green, and the light from her eyes faded. They were once either bright green, slate grey, brown like their hair, or blue like his own eyes. No more. They changed with the glint of the light, but now they would be stained blood-red forever-a colour they had never been before.  
  
He glanced to the object hanging around her neck-a necklace with a locket on the end. She had always told him, "If I die, this pendant shall become yours. Always remember me, little one, and take it from my lifeless body if you must, I just want you to have it. If at some point you wish for someone else to have it, don't hesitate to hand it down to them so that they may remember you, I, and your father."  
  
He reached behind her head and lifted the string up and over it. He stared at it with teary, blurred eyes for a moment before looking back to her head resting on his shoulder. He clutched it to his chest and hugged her once more. "Mother..." He then slipped out of her grasp, letting her fall to the ground where he had been standing, watching her blood trail from his shoulder. He placed the necklace around his neck and ran out to find his parents' murderers.  
  
He stared at the pendant in his hand with the same teary, blurred eyes as he had ten years ago. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular picture frame. Looking over the picture of Duke Red being hugged by the young boy he once knew. He took his left hand and pried the locket open, revealing a picture of him and his family smiling-when they were still alive. Seeing both these photos only brought an onslaught of more tears.  
  
The locket was attached to a black leather thong to prevent easy breakage. The locket itself had a red jewel that fully covered the front with a gold threaded lining around it. From the jewel spread a pair of snow- white wings with five feathers on each side. Of course, all of these materials were synthetic having come from a poor family, but it possessed the same value as if they were real.  
  
He then clutched the locket to his chest once more and lowered his head, closing his eyes to shut out the painful memory. He raised a black sleeved arm to wipe the tears from his eyes that were not hidden by the rim of his cap.  
  
"Hah! Look at the big strong Marduk leader, now!"  
  
"Yeah! One day he's gunning down robots like a man and the next he's crying like a baby!"  
  
Rock lifted his head to glower at the two young children that had been causing the commotion. The two laughed as one of them started to mimic his actions. Rock instinctively reached for his belt to grab a hold of his non-existent gun. On feeling its absence, he simply slipped his hand into his pocket and watched as they continued their uproarious laughter, running away for fear of what he might do to them. "Run now, but I'll find you once I get my gun back. Then I'll teach you a lesson in manners your parents should have!" he yelled after them.  
  
He closed the locket and dropped it inside his shirt and slipped the frame inside his pocket. "Just you wait! I'll get my position back and then I'll be the one laughing when my father banishes you two from the city!"  
  
"You don't have a father!" one of the children called back, only causing Rock's scowl and anger to intensify.  
  
He took a step forward in the direction of their retreat. "Duke Red is my father, you insignificant fools! And unlike you, I at least have some importance in this-"  
  
"My, my, quite the talker, aren't you? You never made comebacks like this when you were in hospital. I think I like the helpless, vulnerable Rock better."  
  
Rock turned to his left to see Sanguine emerging from behind the wall at the end of the bridge. "Wh-what are you doing here? And...why are you dressed like that? You look like a Marduk-specifically Marduk leader."  
  
In one sweeping motion she used her right hand to swipe the hat from her head and bring it back down to her side, placing her other hand akimbo as she swung her hips to meet it. "Huh. Nothing gets past you, does it, Rocky? Say hello to your new Marduk leader."  
  
Rock observed as she came to a stop a foot or two away from him. He scrutinized her from bottom to top-finally coming to her eyes, which were hidden by none other than his sunglasses. "'New Marduk leader'? And those are my sunglasses!"  
  
Sanguine took them off and pushed them into Rock's chest. "You're right. Here you go." She then pulled out two guns from either bolero sleeve, one of which Rock recognized immediately.  
  
She twirled them expertly in her hands before both ends of the shafts came to rest on Rock. "I believe you'll be wanting this back, too," she said, lowering her right hand to dangle the firearm in front of his face.  
  
He snatched both items with his left hand. He slipped the gun into his belt and fit the glasses to his head, though Sanguine could still see the scowl that wrinkled his features. "Yes, I will be wanting it back. First of all, where did you learn to handle a gun? Why were you spying on me? How did you know I was out of the hospital? Why would my father make a girl Marduk leader? Last, don't call me 'Rocky'!"  
  
Sanguine pulled out her own sunglasses and fit them to her head, swinging her hat back on. "Whoa, calm down, Mr. Interrogative. I learned to handle a gun from your friend, Devin, I wasn't spying on you, I didn't know you were out of the hospital and I don't know. Why don't you ask your 'father'?"  
  
"If you weren't spying on me, then what are you doing here?" Rock persisted, his scowl not faltering.  
  
"I came here because I was on my way to the hospital to inquire about your presence there. It just so happened that I took a shortcut through ZONE-1. I was looking for you."  
  
Rock finally backed down, easing up and backing away. "Why were you looking for me?"  
  
Sanguine took her hands off her hips and folded them. "You are wanted back as a Marduk, Rock, but as you can probably guess, not for commanding services. I have word from Devin that Duke Red wants us to increase our numbers, seeing as we are but a dwindling five. The Duke has left me in charge since I am the new captain of the squadron and between Number Two and I, we have come to the conclusion that you would make a suitable re- addition to our ranks."  
  
"Nice speech-did you write it yourself or did you get 'Number Two' to do it for you?" Rock asked sarcastically as he gave her a quizzical look.  
  
"It was completely spontaneous. I would ask that you meet me tomorrow at Duke Red's mansion to assist in the selection of new recruits," Sanguine ordered as she turned to leave.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa-You can't order me around unless I'm willing to obey, which I'm not. The only other way is if I agree to your terms, which I don't, Miss-Marduk-Leader-Wannabe. I'm not going back to the Marduks unless I'm the leader, which I'm obviously not anymore, so you can just forget about my allegiance to that stupid political party," Rock snapped, folding his arms and intending not to move from where he stood.  
  
Sanguine froze and whipped back around. She strode back to Rock with a devilish smirk on her features. She pushed her face right into his, but he didn't move. "Oh really? Well, you should just hop on the next trip to reality, leaving any moment now. I'm the Marduk leader, and you'll listen to me because you're willing to listen to your dear old 'father'. And if you think you won't take Marduk orders from me, think again. City law states that I can hire whoever I want, no questions asked. Welcome back, Rock. You're hired." She reached into her jacket and pulled out his old uniform, then pushed it into his chest again.  
  
She raised her hand and flicked her finger on the bridge of his nose near his forehead, making the sunglasses tumble to ground and him cringe from the sharp sting of her nail, still recognizable through her black glove. With that, she walked away prissily leaving Rock to stare in disbelief, holding his red and black uniform as he rubbed the area between his eyes ruefully. 


	5. The Squadron

Is it just me or does every Metropolis fangirl have a major crush on Rock? And okay, maybe I'll admit it a little, too just to be invariable. Oh yeah and to Anthy's Worst Fear-Don't worry, I intend to update as soon as I've written each chapter, so you can just CALM DOWN...Take deep breaths...  
  
To rockofmarduk- Thank you, and you realize that you're also saying Rock's mother is a ______? You're also saying that to me, since she's loosely based on me. But that's okay, since she is a little insolent and ruthless at the beginning. And sorry, but that's not the plot for this story. That wouldn't quite be "romance", now would it? Oh great...I just gave the whole plot away...  
  
5. The Squadron  
  
"Whoa, hey-slow down. I don't recall ever reading a law that states you can hire anyone you want!" Rock yelled after having put his glasses back on and catching up with Sanguine.  
  
"You obviously haven't been reading lately, then," she replied simply, not stopping to look at him.  
  
Rock leapt in front of her. "Look, if I'm going to be a Marduk again, you at least owe me some answers."  
  
Sanguine stopped, folded her arms and gave him and bored look. "Fine then. What do you want?"  
  
"Tell me about yourself. Who you are, where you're from, that sort of thing."  
  
She unfolded her arms and began to walk around him. "I've told you that already, what more would you need to know. If it isn't about business, we're done."  
  
Rock reached and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back to him. "You are going to give me answers and not questions, Sanguine. I may have control over you, but you yourself said I reminded you of your father. You wouldn't disobey him, now would you?"  
  
"I would if his wishes were unreasonable," she said, trying to wrench her arm from his grasp, but he held tight.  
  
"Were they ever?" he asked, drawing his head closer to hers.  
  
Sanguine stared at him in bewilderment for a moment before turning away and taking off her sunglasses. She sighed. "Come on, then. Let's go find somewhere to sit down and we'll talk."  
  
*  
  
"So my parents sent me from Canada to get a good glimpse into the future. You wouldn't believe how revered Metropolis is outside the city."  
  
"Did you live in a poor part of the country?"  
  
"Why would you think that? No, there are hardly any poor parts except for in the major cities where the homeless hang around. It's a thriving country."  
  
"I hear it's cold there?"  
  
"It depends on where you live. I lived in the southeastern area where it's cold and warm, depending on the season. A climate similar to that of Metropolis, so I didn't really notice that change," Sanguine explained, drawing circles with her fingers on the table. "So how was your time in the hospital?"  
  
Rock sat back in his chair and fingered with his sunglasses lying on the table as he glanced around ZONE-1. "As you can probably guess, not great. They were constantly running tests and it was painful at times even to just lie there and stare at the ceiling. I was greatly relieved when they took all the bandages off, though."  
  
"Including the eyepatch, sling and cast?"  
  
"Yeah. The cast shrunk my arm slightly, but the doctor said that was normal."  
  
"What about your vision? Is it any worse in the right eye than it used to be?"  
  
"No." Rock glanced around the patio that they were sitting in. A small gate surrounded the five or so tables and a clear walkway led inside the bar. Light shone through windows above ZONE-1, brightening even the darkest nooks and crannies.  
  
The activity that hung around ZONE-1 had somewhat decreased since the Ziggurat's destruction, but not by much. Rock assumed that its residents, like him, must have left medical attention now. Either that or they had come out of hiding and they were getting back to their normal lives now that the area had been rebuilt.  
  
Not looking at what he was doing, he subconsciously reached out across the table to reach for his pop can. He lifted it to his lips and tilted his head back to drain what was left in it. It felt slightly different than he had remembered, though.  
  
Sanguine, who had been surveying some kids playing nearby on the street now turned her head to Rock. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't say anything and glanced down to where her drink should have been. She cast a disgusted, yet surprised look at him. She swallowed and took a deep breath in. "Uh...Rock?"  
  
"Hm?" he acknowledged, not lowering his head or the drink.  
  
She gulped again apprehensively and watched as his Adam's Apple moved up and down in rhythm with his swallows. She finally suppressed a giggle. "I hope you know that's my drink?"  
  
Rock stopped his guzzling of the liquid and slammed the can back down on the table, still not lowering his head. He made one last ominous swallow of the contents in his mouth and lowered his head to just above the table, knocking the rim his hat on the surface and coughing as if he were choking. He covered his mouth with one hand as he held the other to his throat like he was going to regurgitate.  
  
Sanguine rested her head on both hands as she lay her elbows on the table and smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, and did I fail to mention that I have a rare disorder that makes my saliva poisonous to those that don't possess my DNA?" she said with a small chuckle.  
  
Rock raised his head to scowl at her, no longer hacking away but panting heavily now. "Surely...surely you..."  
  
"Relax, I'm just joking. You're not going to die just because you accidentally drank from my drink. Though you may die from the humiliation when I tell the other Marduks and Duke Re-"  
  
"If you do, I'm going to kill you!" Rock countered, pointing an accusing finger at her.  
  
The two froze in mid-sentence and turned to the street as they heard laughter. There stood a young, red-headed boy with a short ponytail held by a blue elastic, holding his sides and curled up to hide his joyous face. Beside him stood another boy with shoulder-length black hair and dark blue eyes, mildly smiling at the two of them.  
  
"What do you two want?" Rock demanded, leaping up from his seat but still holding his stomach.  
  
"I'm sorry-we just found your situation amusing and so we stopped to watch. It's interesting to see a female Marduk leader, let alone a female Marduk leader that has time for a boyfriend," the black-haired boy explained.  
  
"'Boyfriend'?!" Sanguine and Rock both exclaimed in unison, Sanguine now leaping up. She cast a disgusted glance at Rock, who displayed the same expression.  
  
She turned back to the two boys. "We are strictly on business! I'll have you know that I was instructed by Duke Red to recruit new Marduk members. Rock, being the former Marduk leader, seemed to be a suitable choice, so that is why I was talking to him. For no other reason was or would I."  
  
The black-haired boy turned to his companion. "You hear that, Dactyl? She's looking for new Marduk recruits!"  
  
The red-haired boy raised his head and wiped tears from his eyes. "She is, is she?"  
  
"Yeah, that's right." The black-haired boy turned back to Sanguine. "My name is Nusku, and my friend here is Dactyl, miss. We'd both be deeply honoured if you were to allow us to join the ranks of the Marduks."  
  
Nusku wore a white vest with red lining around the arm and neck holes. Underneath that was a loose white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. From the vest also trailed what looked like a red shirt. He had blue pants, and where they were folded up at the end it was lighter. He wore brown shoes.  
  
Dactyl wore a white full-sleeved turtleneck and grassy-green shorts. He then wore white socks and blue shoes. After analyzing their appearances, Sanguine and Rock cast meaningful glances at each other. Rock shook his head slightly as Sanguine turned back to them.  
  
"It's been our lifelong dream to fight robots. We want to have a purpose in this city, to protect citizens and have them respect us," Nusku continued.  
  
"Not like they do now," added Dactyl, having recovered from his laughing fit and hanging his head. The hurt innocence clearly showed in his grey eyes.  
  
Sanguine looked to Rock again, who didn't have his head turned her way this time. She looked back to Nusku and Dactyl. "Well, I can't hire you right away, since I'll have to analyze your gunning skills by taking you to Duke Red's mansion. That's where the rest of the Marduks are and they'll help me to decide. Rock will, too, won't you, Rock?"  
  
Rock put his sunglasses on so that he hid the fact that he was rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure..." He gathered up his uniform and began to saunter towards the gates of ZONE-1.  
  
Sanguine put her hat and sunglasses on, then motioned for Nusku and Dactyl to follow her as she took off after Rock.  
  
*  
  
"The others are in the training room, correct?" Sanguine asked the doorman as she entered.  
  
The man nodded, then lifted his head to scrutinize the three boys following closely behind her. He stepped in front of them and barred their way with his arm. Sanguine turned once she had taken off her hat and sunglasses. "Oh don't mind them, butler. They're with me."  
  
The man bowed before them and leapt back into his former position. Sanguine led them to the lower levels of the mansion, Rock familiar with the way yet lagging a good foot or so away from the front of the line. He seemed rather interested in the way Sanguine's long brown hair flailed across her back as she strode briskly, Nusku noticed with his quick glances at the brown-haired boy. If Nusku wasn't glimpsing the two Marduks, he was surveying the mansion with wonder along with his friend Dactyl. The two were as fascinated by all the elegant decorations as Sanguine had two weeks ago.  
  
When they came to the simulator training room, Sanguine wrenched at the turntable handle until it opened. She stepped inside to see a flooded ZONE-3 and faces she didn't recognize running around with the simulator guns, shooting at haywire robots. She moved to the side, allowing for all three to stand beside her against the wall to watch the operation. "Dactyl and Nusku, as you can see, we are running a simulation test to weed out the top gunners aspiring to be Marduks," she explained.  
  
There were looks of utter surprise on both their faces. "But we've no idea how to handle a gun!" Dactyl cried exasperatedly.  
  
"That's your problem then, not ours. Those robots will just get the better of you," Rock said flatly and sarcastically, only to receive a sharp prod in the ribs.  
  
"Rock! Be nice!" Sanguine scolded him. "Don't' worry, you two. If Devin could teach me, he could definitely teach you, no sweat. I have a feeling you'll make excellent Marduks!" She said with a polite smile.  
  
" I've always thought that Devin truly was a miracle worker..." Rock muttered, pulling away and holding his stomach area to dodge another poke from Sanguine. He then let out a suppressed yell, having felt a sharp sting in his left shoulder.  
  
Sanguine giggled as she watched him with narrowed eyes. "There, if I don't get you someone else will." She turned to the men with the simulator guns and cupped her hands over her mouth to be heard. "Thanks, whoever did that, though I remind you that I won't be as forgiving in the real thing!"  
  
Dactyl and Nusku stared at Rock in horror. "Doesn't that...hurt?" Nusku asked.  
  
"Shouldn't there be, like...blood?" added Dactyl.  
  
"No," Rock wheezed, rubbing the area angrily and regretfully. "Those are only simulator firearms, designed to take down the virtual robot targets. You can still hit other people, but it isn't a real gunshot. You just get a sharp sting wherever you're hit..."  
  
Dactyl inched closer to get a better look at the shoulder Rock was massaging. "Have you ever been shot before? Does it feel the same?"  
  
Rock lowered his head. "Have I ever been shot?" he chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I have-though the stomach. It hurts, all right. Though the sting you get hurt doesn't hurt half as much."  
  
"It goes away after a while-there's no need to worry," Sanguine added, hands akimbo and glaring at Rock with a smug look.  
  
Nusku seemed unsatisfied. "But how would they cause the pain of a wound without actually inflicting one?"  
  
"That's what technology is for, kid," Sanguine said, turning away and strutting towards the control room. "You live in the technologically advanced Metropolis, don't forget."  
  
Nusku began to follow her, casting innocent glances at the wincing Rock and the mortified Dactyl, who was now trying to help Rock to the control room.  
  
"They're all males," Sanguine stated with slight disgust in her voice.  
  
"Well, there aren't many females with the mettle you have here in Metropolis," Devin replied. "Most are like Enmy, and we can't have Marduks like that running around." He turned away from the glass window where he had been surveying the other men and to Sanguine. "We've already selected two Marduks. They're upstairs with Enmy trying on uniforms."  
  
"You already hired two Marduks without my consent?" Sanguine asked, cocking her head to one side and scowling at him.  
  
"Well, you see, we presented them to Duke Red and he said they would be suitable..."  
  
"Duke Red?" Rock's ears perked up as he lifted his head to see Devin.  
  
Devin cast a glance at him. "Rock! So you managed to recruit him, eh? That's good. Anyway, as I was saying, Duke Red is out of the hospital and he was the one that told us to display the recruits to him, so..."  
  
"Oh. Okay..." Sanguine trailed off, gazing longingly into space. "Well, then...how is Duke Red and what are the names of the two you hired?"  
  
"Duke Red's fine," answered Patrick, who had just entered the control room. "He's still in a wheelchair, though. The maids are taking care of him up in his office. As for the two recruits, their names are Spike* and Gerra*. They're with Enmy trying on-"  
  
"I've said that already," interrupted Devin with an envious glower.  
  
"Well, sorry," Patrick replied sarcastically and with a sneer. He turned back to Sanguine. "Man, you should see some of the talent out there. There's this blond guy who really knows how to take down targets. We've gotta hire him!"  
  
Patrick pointed out the glass window to a man that had his back to them. He held his gun in his right hand, pointing at the ceiling of the simulation room, waiting for one of the Albert 2 models to come into considerable range.  
  
Devin peered over Sanguine's shoulder at Dactyl and Nusku, who were transfixed by the blond-haired man. "Are these two friends of yours?"  
  
Sanguine stood erectly again, still keeping her eyes on the simulation room. "Not exactly...they're auditioners, though they'll need a small handicap." Sanguine moved closer to Devin to whisper in his ear. "They're not quite the calibre we're looking for yet."  
  
"Oh, I see... No problem. If they're that dedicated, they'll be Marduks in no time," Devin answered, still in the same tone.  
  
"Why don't you go check out the other two?" Orion suggested, looking up from the control screens he had been monitoring.  
  
"Yeah-we've got things under control down here. Go and get acquainted- you are Marduk leader, after all," Patrick added.  
  
Sanguine blushed and suddenly found her boots very interesting. "Okay, then, I will. I shall leave Dactyl and Nusku with you, then, shall I?"  
  
"Um-hm. Sam'll put 'em through their paces," replied Orion, causing a slightly worried look to appear on the faces of the two.  
  
Sanguine turned and placed her hand on the doorknob, poised to turn it. "You coming, Rock?"  
  
Rock tore his eyes away from the flooded ZONE-3. "Uh, yeah...sure..." He sauntered over to the door then followed her along the wall and out of the room.  
  
Just as they were about to enter the party's barracks, she stopped at the door and turned to him. "You don't have to be a Marduk, you know. No one's forcing you. I can see you envy me."  
  
Rock lifted his head, since it had been practically stuck to his chest the whole way through the mansion. "Me? Envy you? Not even in your dreams."  
  
"A simple 'No, I don't' would suffice. At least that's what normal people would say."  
  
Rock's scowl intensified and he glowered at her in silence for a moment. "I know no one's forcing me to be a Marduk, can't I do it of my own accord?"  
  
Sanguine remained silent, a doubtful look on her face.  
  
"I don't why I'm telling you this, but it's a matter of personal honour," he said, pushing past her and opening the door.  
  
Inside, the two saw three doors on either side of the room. Enmy and two other men stood in the middle. Enmy looked as if she were explaining something to them.  
  
Sanguine brushed past Rock, who still stood in the doorway, gawking at the two new recruits. One looked around eighteen, with a mushroom cut dark purple hair, brown eyes and glasses. He wore a loose tan shirt with three-quarter sleeves. He had olive green Capri pants and brown boots with a white strip up the middle that came halfway up his shin.  
  
The other man was a blond with slightly spiked hair down to the bottom of his head. He was slightly unshaved, creating a bristled look along his chin and jawline. He had brown eyes. He had the appearance of a gangster, what with the bandanna he wore on his head, the torn sleeved-tank top, the leather silver buckled belt and loose pants that had one torn leg. He had brown, knee-high boots, spiked bracelets and a skull and crossbones tattoo on his right arm. He looked to be in his early twenties.  
  
Enmy stopped talking and turned to Sanguine, the other two men turned their heads, too. "Is there something I can help you with? I was just explaining to them the rules of conduct."  
  
"No, nothing. I just came to take a gander at the new recruits. These two men, I suppose?" Sanguine asked with a smile, nodding her head towards the men.  
  
Before anyone else could answer, Rock intercepted. "Uh, I'll just go get changed. My room, right, Enmy?"  
  
"Same place-nothing's changed," she said curtly before turning back to Sanguine. "Yes, these two. Spike and Gerra."  
  
Feeling ignored, Rock rolled his eyes, turned, and left the room. They all turned their heads on hearing the door close, but then turned back to each other. The purple-haired boy extended a friendly hand towards Sanguine, who stepped forward and shook it gingerly.  
  
"My name's Spike," he informed as he fiddled with his glasses. "I imagine you must be tough to be a female Marduk leader."  
  
'Your name's Spike?!' she thought to herself. She covered her disbelief and embarrassment with a dry laugh. "Uh...thank you, but not exactly...Name's Sanguine. Pleased to make your acquaintance."  
  
She turned and extended her hand to the other one. "Nice to meet you, Gerra..."  
  
Gerra didn't outstretch his arm, but kept them folded across his chest. He gave a stiff nod as he scowled down at her. He had to be a good four inches taller. "Sanguine..." he muttered.  
  
Sanguine immediately withdrew her hands behind her back and returned the glowering nod. She whirled around on her heel to face Enmy. "They're all yours." With that, she turned towards the door and began to strut towards it.  
  
"Where are you going?" queried Enmy.  
  
She whipped back around. "To find Duke Red."  
  
"It's seems you won't have to. He's found you," Enmy replied as she pointed the door.  
  
Sanguine whipped around to see Qingu wheeling Duke Red through the doorway in none other than a wheelchair. He wasn't bandaged or anything, no casts-only a few bruises and cuts. He was in much better condition than when Sanguine had last seen him. Qingu was sombre as usual, while Duke Red had a paternal smile on his face, as if he knew he were about to die and was relieved about it.  
  
Sanguine whirled oddly to stare oddly at Enmy, Spike and Gerra, who were either bowing or curtsying towards Duke. She turned back to him, who had changed his expression to a stern look. She curtsied awkwardly before standing at attention. "Duke Red, sir!"  
  
"Sanguine-so good to see you again. How has the party been getting on in my absence?" he questioned casually.  
  
"Exceedingly well, sir!"  
  
"Relax, my dear, there's no need to be so rigid around me. We are of equal rank, now," Duke Red stated with a wave of his hand.  
  
Sanguine sighed, allowing her puffed-up chest to deflate. "That's not what you would've told Rock..." she muttered before raising her voice to normal speaking level. "Thank you, sir. As you probably already know, these two men, Spike and Gerra are the new party members. I was just acquainting myself with them."  
  
"Good job. I heard that you also managed to recruit Rock?"  
  
As if on cue, Rock entered through the door, with his sunglasses on the top of his head and making final adjustments to his suspenders. Hearing the odd silence in the room, he lifted his head, since his attention had been on making the clips on his suspenders and pants fit together. Everyone in the room was staring at him. He gave the clips one final, irritated attempt, and to his surprise, they slid into each other like a knife through butter. "Yes?"  
  
Sanguine looked to Duke Red with a nonchalant smile. "Does that answer your question?"  
  
Duke Red was too mesmerized by Rock to answer. "R-Rock..."  
  
There was tension and silence throughout the several people, Rock and Duke Red staring at each other while the others cast glances back and forth between the two. When Sanguine felt as if she could take it no longer, Sam came to her rescue by appearing in the doorway along with the other Marduks.  
  
"The day's session is over and we have selected our full roster-"  
  
"Lighten up, Sammy, just say-oh...I'm sorry, did we interrupt anything?" Patrick asked, having pushed Sam aside.  
  
All in the room except for Rock and Duke had their attention on Patrick and Sam. "No, nothing important," responded Enmy. "You were saying how you've come with the last four Marduks?"  
  
"That is correct, ma'am," Sam answered, now pushing Patrick out of the way so that four other males could pass through.  
  
Sanguine recognized the seemingly petrified Dactyl and Nusku right away. The third figure she identified as the blond man they had seen gunning down the targets with precision accuracy. He had a small amount of hair trailed from the back of his head and bangs almost similar to Dactyl's, giving them almost the same appearance. The only difference was that this man's hair was spikier. He was tall and appeared to be in his early twenties, if not late teens with emerald green eyes. He wore a red turtleneck and black jacket with dark brown pants and black combat boots.  
  
The other boy took her a little longer to analyze-she had definitely seen him before, but not in the simulation room. He looked eighteen, the same age as Spike, though an inch taller. He wore white shoes, dark drown pants, a light blue, collared, short-sleeved shirt which was buttoned down the front and wasn't tucked into his pants with a set of red sweatbands on his wrists. Sanguine finally gasped when she came to his head, discerning his slightly shaggy brown hair that made a neat part in the bangs in the middle of his forehead that looked vaguely like Rock's and the emerald green eyes he possessed. Her surprised expression then became a murderous glower towards him.  
  
"These two are Dactyl and Nusku. Despite their young age, we of the Marduk Party feel that they, in time, will make a formidable addition," announced Sam, motioning to the two boys in turn. He then gestured towards the blond man. "This is Fornax*, an expert gunman and aspiring politician. Perfect Marduk material." He finally gestured to the last one, making Sanguine's heart skip a beat. "And last, but not least, this is Blade* Algethi, none other than Sanguine's older brother."  
  
Rock, who had now turned, looked to see a green-eyed version of himself and male version of Sanguine standing before him. 'Blade Algethi...So Algethi is her surname. Sanguine Algethi... She wouldn't even tell me things as simple as that about herself...though maybe I could squeeze it out of her brother-which she didn't tell me she had either...' Rock thought to himself, his scowl intensifying with every sentence.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Whoa, longer chapter than I expected. And that's why it took so long to write. Not that this is as long as I've ever written, but long for Cutthroat Stone. So, anyway, now for my suspense questions: What is Blade, Sanguine's older brother, doing in Metropolis and why does she feel anger towards him? Will there be a different relationship between Duke Red and Rock now that Duke knows Rock saved his life? Will Dactyl and Nusku fare well as Marduks? Will Rock get the answers he expects from Blade? What is Rock's real surname and will he live much longer after guzzling Sanguine's drink? Why is Spike named so with an image and personality like that? Find the majority of answers out soon! Please R&R! 


	6. Goodbye, Kenichi

6. Goodbye, Kenichi  
  
"What's that?" asked Kenichi as he walked alongside Sanguine down the sunset-lit streets of Metropolis. He peered over her shoulder at the folder of papers she was scribbling in.  
  
"It's a Marduk profile. As the party's leader, I have to file their statistics and keep track of them," she explained. She lifted her head and called out behind her. "Rock! Are you coming with us or not?"  
  
Rock snapped the locket shut and looked a couple of metres straight ahead to where Kenichi and Sanguine were walking. "Yeah, yeah-in my own sweet time!" As Sanguine turned back to her papers, he slipped the locket inside his shirt and looked at the ground again. "Don't know why I listen to you...You may look like her, but you're not my mother..."  
  
Kenichi tried to suppress a giggle, but couldn't, making Sanguine leer at him vehemently. "What now?"  
  
"I have a feeling that he's ashamed to know us," he replied, looking upwards at the sky.  
  
Sanguine narrowed her eyes even more and focused her attention on the papers once more. "Anyone would be ashamed to know you, that's for sure."  
  
Kenichi ignored the insult. "I also have a feeling that a certain someone has a feeling for someone..."  
  
Sanguine's lip began to curl and instantly Kenichi regretted what he had said. "I sympathize him, that's all. I'd feel the same way for you if your parents died in the war and then you tried to be loved by a surrogate father, but couldn't because you were always pushed away and it seems that the only way to get his attention was to save his life by ultimately risking yours. Maybe."  
  
"Uh-huh, sure..."  
  
Sanguine whirled fully to him so that she walked sideways. "I hope you know that he's right behind us?" she whispered angrily. "I don't have to escort you to the airport, you know. And besides, I'd be nice to me if I were you-because when Tima's back I'll know just what to say to her about you!"  
  
"At least I'll admit it. You know, this job is really stressing you out-"  
  
"Are you guys going to hurry up or what?"  
  
Kenichi and Sanguine turned, completely oblivious to the fact that they had stopped to argue while Rock passed them. "I'm only carrying your bags for a limited amount of time, Kenichi."  
  
"It still amazes me how you managed to fit Tima in that suitcase," Sanguine said, indicating to the largest suitcase that Kenichi held.  
  
"Who would have guessed that her materials were so flexible," responded Kenichi doubtfully with a shrug. He cast a longing glance down the elevator leading to the airport's lower level. Below, people were commuting from newly arriving and departing flights. He could see the planes taking off and landing through the huge glass windows. He turned back to Sanguine, pretending to deny Rock's presence. "Though we've had our disagreements, I'd like to thank you, Sanguine, for helping me with Tima. I'll be back in a few weeks, so don't worry. Same room, at the Hotel Coconut. Oh yeah-and if you find Fi-Fi, tell it where I've gone. I haven't been able to find it for the past few days."  
  
Sanguine took off her sunglasses and fought hard to hold her tears back, winning the battle though her eyes were watery. "No problem, will do. You just finish rebuilding Tima. Say hello to your uncle for me."  
  
Kenichi nodded, then leaned in closer to her and dropped his voice as he spoke. "I'll leave you two to your own business." Seeing her face blush with anger and embarrassment, he turned to Rock with a stern scowl. "I won't let Duke Red know if I do get her online, okay, Rock?"  
  
Rock seemed stunned at this comment, drawing back and raising his eyebrows behind his sunglasses. "Th-thank you...K-Kenichi..."  
  
Kenichi's scowl faded into a wide, relieved grin. He extended his hand. "I believe we can start over again, Rock. Once I get back."  
  
Rock relaxed and slid his black gloved hand into Kenichi's. He returned a small smile. "Yeah... Tell Shunsaku Ban and Tima that I'm sorry. I owe you an apology, too."  
  
"Apology accepted. Well, I'd better get going. I wouldn't want to miss my one and only flight out of here. See you!" With that, he picked up his two bags and hopped onto the elevator.  
  
Sanguine was silent until Kenichi had reached the bottom of the elevator and commenced running to the right side of the large hallway below. "Bye, Kenichi! Have a nice trip and come back alive, or I'll kill you!" she yelled, cupping her left hand around her mouth and waving the other in the air.  
  
Rock cast a confused and disgusted glance at her. She noticed it and looked at him. "What?"  
  
"One, that doesn't make any sense and two, my Father made you Marduk leader? That's funny-I don't see any pigs flying."  
  
Sanguine placed her hands akimbo after putting her sunglasses and hat back on. "You're just jealous because he chose me instead of you this time."  
  
Rock began to saunter away, and instinctively Sanguine followed. "Hardly," he replied, shaking his head.  
  
Sanguine jogged to keep up with him. "You say that but you don't mean it. Come on, you're supposed to help me with the filing."  
  
"Fine then. Hand me the folder."  
  
She did so.  
  
Rock ran his eyes over the first paper rapidly. He stared a little longer than necessary at the picture of the party member. "Name: Sanguine Algethi. Gender: Female. Age: 16. Height: 5"5. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Green. Birthday: July 20, 2090. Birthplace: Toronto, Canada. Blood Type: A. Gunning Level: Intermediate. Agent Rank: 01. Notes: The leader of the party and is to work closely with Duke Red and agents 02 through 04. Younger sister of agent 09 (Blade Algethi). Protective, moody, intuitive, obedient and intelligent. Expected to progress well throughout time in the Party."  
  
Rock turned to Sanguine and took his sunglasses off. "Hm...Interesting profile..."  
  
"Where do they get this information, anyway?"  
  
"Reliable sources, then they form it into this little package here. Of course, this is rather vague compared to some of the other files the Metropolitan government keeps about us. Some of them probably even know the exact number of hairs on your head."  
  
Sanguine snatched the folder from his hand as he waved it in front of her. She flipped to the second sheet of paper, reading it over briefly in her head before smirking and reading it aloud to Rock. "Name: Rock Red. Gender: Male. Age: 16. Height: 5"6. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Birthday: May 16, 2090. Birthplace: Megalopolis, Republic. Blood Type: O. Gunning Level: Proficient. Agent Rank: 02. Notes: Vice commander and is to work closely with Duke Red and agents 01, 03, and 04. Orphaned after World War 3 of 2093- 2095. Now the foster son of Duke Red. Former leader, but has been demoted. Solemn, obedient, ruthless, quiet and intelligent. Rehired and expected to progress well."  
  
"You hear that? I'm two gunning levels above you. The highest level in fact-that you can achieve. They might as well name the exceeding level in my honour," scoffed Rock.  
  
"Yes, and it has nothing to do with the fact that you've been handling firearms much longer than I have, Mr. Former Leader?" she retorted, pushing the folder back into Rock's chest with mock anger.  
  
Rock turned to the third page. "Name: Devin Halberd. Gender: Male. Age: 23. Height: 5"9. Hair: Blond. Eyes: Blue. Birthday: April 7, 2083. Birthplace: Metropolis, Republic. Blood Type: A. Gunning Level: Proficient. Agent Rank: 03. Notes: Is to work closely with agents 01, 02, and 04. Son of a wealthy merchant. Close ties are noticeable with agent 02 and former agent 04. Apathetic, ruthless, loyal, cunning, and respectful. Has served on party three years to a good record."  
  
Rock handed the folder back to Sanguine, who then turned to the fourth page. "Name: Fornax Derringer. Gender: Male. Age: 20. Height: 5"10. Hair: Blond. Eyes: Green. Birthday: September 21, 2086. Birthplace: Washington DC, USA. Blood Type: AB. Gunning Level: Proficient. Agent Rank: 04. Notes: Is to work closely with agents 01 through 03. Has family complexes and is a "ladies' man", to quote, though knows when duties come first. Is aspiring to be a politician. Deceiving, disciplined, diligent, amicable, and calculating. Expected to progress well throughout time with party."  
  
By the time the two had made it back to Duke Red's makeshift mansion, the two were surprised to see a multitude of servants moving things out of the mansion and into a large hovercar, almost hovertruck. Sanguine was finishing reading Dactyl's profile. "Name: Dactyl Mouse. Gender: Male. Age: 14. Height: 5"4. Hair: Orange. Eyes: Grey. Birthday: October 10, 2092. Birthplace: Cosmopolis, Republic. Blood Type: O. Gunning Level: Novice. Agent Rank: 12. Notes: Is to work closely with agents 09 through 11. Is unsure of himself at times, and therefore allows vulnerability. Shy, quiet, pacifistic, obedient, and compassionate. Not expected to withstand pressures of party for long."  
  
Sanguine lifted her head and stared down at the paper wistfully. "I feel sorry for Dactyl. His lifelong dream despite the fact that he's the lowest rank of the Marduk hierarchy, yet he's afraid to face it. That boy needs motivation."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about him," he replied dismissively. "If he wasn't meant for it, he wasn't meant for it. It would be unfair to thrust something he can't undertake on him."  
  
"Hm..." Sanguine sighed, tearing her eyes away from Rock and back to the photo of Dactyl. She closed the folder and tucked it under her arm as the two walked through the main entrance hall.  
  
Sanguine didn't know where she was going, just that she ought to follow Rock a while longer. They both walked in silence for a long time until they reached the third level-the one containing Rock's bedroom. They were a few feet away from the door when Sanguine broke the awkward silence.  
  
"Rock? What is your surname?"  
  
Rock paused and ogled her with his hand curled around the doorknob to his room. "What do you mean, 'my surname'? Red...Isn't it obvious?"  
  
"No, no, no, I mean your real surname. The one that belonged to your real father-to your family."  
  
Rock was surprised at the question, though his expression was hidden behind his glasses. "Uh...I'm...not exactly sure... It's been so long since I've used it, I hardly remember anymore... Something like Ri-Ri-g-gel? Rigel? I don't remember..." Rock could remember his real surname perfectly well, knowing that his name wasn't anything near 'Rigel', it didn't even begin with an R. However, Sanguine appeared satisfied with his faulty answer.  
  
"Oh. That's a nice name..." she trailed off. She turned to leave and head back down the stairs.  
  
Rock watched her, not wanting to feel empathy or compassion towards her. His heart and his mind fought the battle, until one had won. "Sanguine!"  
  
She turned away from the staircase which she had been about to saunter down. "Yes?"  
  
Rock moved swiftly over to her so that he wouldn't have to shout across the hall. "Where are you going?"  
  
"The Hotel Coconut. It's where I've been staying in Metropolis since I made friends with Kenichi."  
  
Rock took his sunglasses off and cast sideways glances out of embarrassment. "Maybe you don't have to go there... Maybe my father would allow you to stay here in the mansion?"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Dunno, but if you talked to him, I'm sure he'd find somewhere. A Marduk leader shouldn't have to fend for her poor helpless self out there in the wild Metropolis. You'd get practice with gunning down robots, but hey, wouldn't you rather rest easy after a long day's work?"  
  
Sanguine turned to face him fully, a smile creeping across her features. She took off her sunglasses and gave him a mocking scowl. "Are you saying I can't take care of myself? This from the one who-"  
  
"Sanguine, Rock! There you are! I've been looking for you two!"  
  
The two turned to see Duke Red advancing up the staircase with wide, friendly arms. He no longer had a wheelchair, no longer had bandages, and no longer needed an escort for mere walking around. He was fully recovered, and was wearing a white suit with red bow tie-the type of garb he wore for a special occasion.  
  
When he reached them at the top of the stairwell, he ushered them forward and put his arms around the shoulders of both of them, making Sanguine pull away slightly and Rock stand still, though he felt extremely uncomfortable, not used to such affectionate gestures. "Where have you two been all day?"  
  
Sanguine and Rock glanced at each other, as if expecting the other to make up some satisfactory excuse.  
  
"We've been patrolling the streets, Father...ZONE-1 especially... It's the most robot-rampage-prone area, after all," lied Rock for the second time that evening.  
  
Duke Red paused to consider this for a moment before taking his arms away and continuing. "Well, I'm sorry to give this announcement on such short notice, but there is going to be a ball, tonight... It's a special event to celebrate the reconstruction of Metropolis and the Ziggurat, hence the name, Metropolis Reconstruction ball. It's amazing how quickly they were able to rebuild the city... Almost like a miracle heaven sent... Anyway, all of the survivor political figures will be there, along with other imperative guests. I would like you two to dress appropriately. It is to be held in the Ziggurat's new festivity hall." With that, he turned to leave.  
  
"Oh, um...Duke Red, sir?" Sanguine called.  
  
"When is this ball to take place?"  
  
"In an hour and a half. Sanguine-you should see Enmy-she has your dress and everything else ready. Oh, before I forget, Tima's old room is now yours. Rock? If you would care to show it to her?" On seeing Rock's compliant, yet annoyed nod, he departed down the staircase, muttering something about, "Must tell the other Marduks..."  
  
Sanguine and Rock were still rather baffled even when Duke Red had left their sight. Rock finally came to his senses and turned to Sanguine. "Well, that solves one problem..."  
  
Sanguine drew a sharp breath in, feeling the wind sucked out of her stomach. "E-Enmy? Does it have to be so...tight?" she gasped.  
  
"Those were Duke Red's instructions, and I intend to follow them. Besides, it's not that bad. Young Tima used to wear one all the time, and she never complained," she replied simply, pulling the strings even tighter.  
  
"Yeah? Well, she was probably used to it. Girls in this modern society don't have to wear corsets..." Sanguine countered.  
  
Enmy tied the strings together in double knots so that they wouldn't come loose. "Oh, stop whining. It's only for a special occasion. You want to look nice for the government officials, don't you? Here-your dress."  
  
Enmy reached for the light purple, silky fabric that lay on the bed once belonging to the human Tima. She held it out in front of her to display it to Sanguine, whose eyes widened in wonder. "It's beautiful..."  
  
"Try it on, then," Enmy said, handing the dress to her.  
  
Sanguine took it and slipped into it, pulling the thin wisps of fabric up her arms and reaching behind her neck to zip up the neck part of the dress. She moved to the mirror and stared at herself in it. It had a turtleneck and no sleeves, since the end of the sides cut off a while before her shoulders even started, exposing the end of her collarbone. Two thin strips of fabric went around her upper arms and at the bottom of the dress on either side was a slit up to just above her knee. The armbands were of a darker shade of purple. She examined the artificially-thinned figure that the dress accentuated. She then turned to Enmy. "Um...don't I need shoes?"  
  
"Yes, of course, and gloves, too." Enmy for the bed again, handing Sanguine a pair of dark purple gloves and high-heeled shoes, a darker shade still.  
  
Sanguine slipped into the shoes and slid the elbow-length gloves over her hands. She glanced disappointedly down at the shoes, lifting the hem of her skirt. "High-heels? Duke Red wants me to wear high-heels? How am I supposed to walk around in them? They were only created to look pretty, I'm sure..."  
  
"Sit down," Enmy ordered, motioning to a nearby chair. She reached into the pocket of her petticoat and pulled out two gold bands. She reached for a brush on the dresser and began running it through Sanguine's hair. "Like I said before, it's only one night. Just think of making a good impression, since you'll have the appearance."  
  
When Enmy had finished making a bun high on Sanguine's head and tying it with the gold elastics, she reached to the dresser for a pair of gold earrings. She fit them to Sanguine and then motioned for the girl to stand up in front of the three-profile mirror.  
  
"A little weird..." mumbled Sanguine doubtfully.  
  
Enmy squinted her eyes and cocked her head to one side for a moment, examining her. She then ushered Sanguine out the door hastily. "It's perfect. Go, go now... the others are waiting in the ballroom of the Ziggurat a good ten blocks down!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Confused about the Red Mansion/Ziggurat layouts? Well, that was one of the plotholes I failed to recognize. The other day I just realized that Duke Red's office, Tima's room, and all those other things were actually *in* the Ziggurat, but of course, since this takes place after the Ziggurat's collapse, it's kind of hard to have rooms in a non-existent structure. So, I borrowed Reziimthestrangeone's "Duke Red Mansion" idea for the original plan (please don't kill me, I meant well), but now that doesn't work out! So, to make this all function properly, Duke Red has a makeshift mansion where he used to live before the Ziggurat was built and his main living were quarters transported there. They just kept the duplicate layout in the Ziggurat as in his emergency residence for reasons I don't know. Get it? Got it? Good. 


	7. Draconian Skunk

Why is it that no one likes reviewing my stories?  
  
7. Draconian Skunk  
  
Enmy ushered Sanguine out onto the dingy landing of the ballroom. "Go on!"  
  
"But Enmy, I-"  
  
"We maids aren't allowed to show ourselves, yet. Mr. Red is waiting for you, so just walk down that staircase. Do it with grace and elegance!"  
  
Sanguine cast a scowl at Enmy and clenched her hand in a fist as she took a deep breath in and out. She strode along the red carpet until she came to top of the grand staircase. She cast her gaze downwards-running her eyes down the red carpet of the staircase until she met the many people mingling on the polished marble floors.  
  
The ballroom had been changed considerably since the Ziggurat's collapse and reconstruction. The stage that Duke Red, Mayor Ryon, President Boon, and Minister Skunk had stood on at the original Ziggurat celebrations was now gone and had been replaced with windows like the ones in the Ziggurat. This design went around the whole ballroom so that it was covered in windows displaying the nighttime of Metropolis. One addition was the balcony opposite the staircase. It was made of a fine white stone, she could see for where she was, and the stone banisters were covered in creepers. There was a bench of the matching stone in the middle of the balcony, where some people were sitting now. It would be a good place to commit suicide, Sanguine thought, what with the twenty story or so drop to hard concrete below.  
  
She cast her gaze around the golden ballroom again, sighing in relief on seing no intrusive reporters. Her eyes came to land on the concession table. But it wasn't the concession table that caught her attention, but who stood at it with his back turned to her. None other than the black- suited Rock. For a moment, she felt like turning and running back to Enmy.  
  
"Ah, there she is..."  
  
Rock looked up from the spot on the floor that his bored stare had been fixed to. Duke Red stood before him in his special occasion white suit, although he wasn't looking at Rock. He was looking upwards at the top of the staircase. Rock saw this and turned around. "Who? There who is?"  
  
He made a small gasp and his eyes widened as he noticed the figure at the top of the staircase.  
  
"Beautiful, isn't she? Just like Tima was..."  
  
"Hn...I guess..." Rock looked back to Duke Red, whose expression was now sad and unfocussed by a daydream. "Father? Are you okay?"  
  
Duke Red remained in his reverie a moment longer before shaking his head and glancing down at Rock. "Oh? Yes... As I was saying, just like Tima... That is why you are to attract and then dispose of her," Duke Red replied, moving forward to greet Sanguine, who was now descending the staircase.  
  
Rock took a few steps forward to keep up with him. "What do you mean 'attract and then dispose of her'? If she's that 'beautiful', then why would you want me to kill her?"  
  
"You want to be the Marduk leader, Rock."  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
Duke Red turned to him, a dazed look on his face. "Don't lie to me. You want that as much as you want me to love you."  
  
Rock drew back in surprise, his eyes wide with horror. He was at a loss for words. Duke Red moved closer to Rock and embraced him in a warm hug, making Rock now feel utterly shocked and mortified.  
  
"If you kill Sanguine, then you will prove to me that you deserve to be the Marduk leader and not her. It will show that you have the true, ruthless heart of Party leader. You'll be treated as my equal, and I shall accept you as my foster son and treat you so."  
  
Rock continued to stare at Duke Red with wide eyes even as he pulled away. "B-But I don't see what that has to do with her...loving...me...?"  
  
Duke Red merely smiled and whirled back around to face Sanguine who was now coming down the last five steps. He threw his arms wide to her, though didn't hug her as he had Rock. "Sanguine! My beautiful little flower!"  
  
"Sir," she replied with a smile. "Thank you."  
  
Duke Red placed his hand on her shoulder and moved out of the way for her to see the full ballroom. "See? This is the new Ziggurat and the officials of Metropolis. Everyone's here except for President Boon and Acetylene Lamp. I received word from Minister Skunk that they had passed away and Orion informed me that it was of natural causes. Rather unfortunate and suspicious, but that't how life is." Duke Red turned to Rock. "You know everyone, don't you? If you wouldn't mind, could you make the introductions?"  
  
"Yes, Father," Rock answered, unsure of why Duke Red was suddenly so jubilant and open, but he knew he didn't want to ruin a mood such as this.  
  
Without another word he began to walk away to the group nearest him, Sanguine following in his wake but not before giving Duke Red a confused look. Once she had turned back to Rock, a heinous smile crossed his features. "If this all works out properly, my legacy shall be carried out thanks to you, Rock," he murmured as he tore his gaze away from the two and turned to move towards his associates.  
  
"I don't really need to explain about everyone, do I?" Rock questioned a few metres before two chatting officials.  
  
"Well, I know Minister Skunk, but not the lady." She answered.  
  
"Very well then," Rock said, leading her up to the two.  
  
Skunk and the other lady stopped halfway through their conversation immediately and turned to them. "Why, hello, there, Rock," Skunk drawled. "I see you survived the Ziggurat and collapse of Metropolis?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"One of the few-amazing. I had heard that it was you who set off the mechanism for its destruction? And if it hadn't been for you, none of us would be alive today? Not even those in other countries because of an utter robot's malfunction?"  
  
Rock nodded succinctly.  
  
As Rock and Skunk carried out their idle chatter, Sanguine surveyed the unfamiliar woman. She had dark purple, almost black hair which was swept back in a ponytail so short that her hair couldn't have been much longer than her shoulders-that was certainly the length of the strands of hair that weren't tied back. She had bright green eyes that only made her satisfied scowl look even more threatening. She wore a black dress with a strap that hung only from one shoulder and with slits up the side of her skirt-the same style as Sanguine's skirt. Her shoes were black high-heels.  
  
"And who's this girl, Rock?"  
  
Sanguine jolted out of her reverie partly out of mention of her and a different voice. The lady's voice was deep and cold.  
  
"This is Sanguine Algethi, the new Marduk leader before you decide to question me. My father thought her more suitable for the job because of my injuries at the time," Rock explained, gesturing to her. He glanced to Sanguine and indicated to the purple-haired lady. You know Minister Skunk, Secretary of State, so this woman is Miss Rose Draconian, Vice President of Metropolis."  
  
"Soon to be the president once the hearing takes place and the Metropolitans have decided on their new president." She cast a shifty glance at Skunk. "It was unfortunate for President Boon to pass away so quickly- he was rather young and a close working partner of mine."  
  
"Red appointed a female Marduk leader?" Skunk questioned, his usually calculating expression becoming one of slight surprise. "I knew he was a little dishevelled since the deaths of his wife, Duchess and daughter, Tima, but now I believe he's truly off his rocker."  
  
"My father is not deranged," Rock said defiantly.  
  
"Whatever you say, boy. And I hope you know that Duke Red isn't your real father or did the glory of being the world's saviour go straight to your head?" Draconian taunted, leaning down from her immense height.  
  
"Rock would not allow such nonsense to deter him from his sanity, unlike you," Sanguine countered, leaping to his defence.  
  
"My, my, such words coming from a little girl who probably can't even fire a gun without knocking herself out with the recoil," replied Draconian as she stood back erectly, her sneer only intensifying with the satisfaction of victory.  
  
"I can fire a gun properly, would you like me to prove it? First I'll need a target-" Sanguine was interrupted by Rock tugging at her arm, for she had begun to advance on VP Draconian.  
  
"We don't need to waste our time with these two," he said. She cast one last loathsome glance at Draconian and Skunk before allowing Rock to lead her away.  
  
"Yes-don't let us stand in the way of your little lovelife, Rock," Draconian called after them.  
  
"You'd better hope that what happened to President Boon doesn't happen to your precious father, Rock," added Skunk.  
  
Rock stopped dead in his tracks and stared straight ahead blankly for a moment or two before he continued walking away from them. "Those bastards...what's the bet he killed Boon himself..." Sanguine thought she heard him growl through clenched teeth.  
  
He dragged her to another pair of officials, both men. Again, one was familiar while the other wasn't. Both were engaged in deep conversation, and didn't turn until Rock cleared his throat.  
  
The blond haired, blue eyed man looked down at Rock and Sanguine, his permanent scowl softening into the friendliest smile he could muster. "Rock! I've been meaning to talk to you. Um...your hospitalization hasn't affected your memory, I presume?"  
  
"No, Mayor Ryon, sir," Rock replied, returning the polite joviality.  
  
"Right then, you haven't heard any more about the assassination of President Boon, have you? I was talking to Mr Castor here. He said that he felt suspicious of your father and the Marduks," informed Ryon.  
  
"I could ask Devin, but I didn't give them any commands regarding the president's death. If indeed it was them, I wasn't around and I doubt that my father would issue such an order."  
  
"I'm not accusing you of anything," the other man finally said. Unlike Ryon, he was tall and thin. His short hair was blond and his eyes light blue. He wore glasses that seemed to be there more for fashion than aide in reading ability and he wore a copper red suit with cape that draped from his shoulders and cast for his broken arm. He had the same hardened expression as Ryon, though he wore a shifty smile-like Draconian. He continued with his sentence. "I'm simply saying that I gained my suspicions from a reliable source. That's what Mintaka told me. He and some of the other Nins said they saw some five men in Marduk uniform enter the President's residence the day he was discovered dead."  
  
"Who's Mintaka? And what are the 'Nins'?"  
  
Rock had completely forgotten about the girl cowering behind him. "Oh, sorry. That's my fault. This is Suzerain Castor. He holds the same political position as my father and is the founder of the Nin-agal Party, though they're often referred to as the Nins. Mintaka is the leader of the Party." He looked up to Castor. "This is Sanguine, the new Marduk leader."  
  
"Ah, nice to meet you, Miss Sanguine," Suzerain Castor said, taking her gloved hand in his and kissing the top of her hand daintily.  
  
Mayor Ryon made a deep bow. "My pleasure."  
  
Sanguine acknowledged them both with a nervous nod, after which she tried to conceal herself more behind Rock. He could see that she was beginning to feel uneasy and so turned back to the two men. "Is that all?"  
  
Mayor Ryon looked upward absent-mindedly. "Nothing that I can think of. If I think of anything, I'll come to look for you."  
  
"If you could introduce the two parties to each other, Rock, I'd appreciate that. I've yet to talk to Duke," said Suzerain Castor.  
  
"Yes, Mr Castor, sir," Rock answered with a departing nod.  
  
Sanguine made a small giggle as Rock let out a huge sigh. "My, you're the messenger tonight, aren't you?"  
  
"Sometimes you'd rather not know people..."  
  
The two came to the Marduks who were all in a secluded corner of the ballroom. All of them, even Dactyl and Nusku, were in matching black suits with red bow ties. Fornax was the first to notice their approach. He turned to them though he kept his one hand firmly around his wineglass and the other buried in his pocket. "I saw you greeting officials around the room. They all want to get acquainted with the new Marduk leader?"  
  
"Some more than others," retorted Sanguine as she stepped out from behind Rock.  
  
Sam had now turned his attention to them along with the rest of the Marduks. "Encountered VP Draconian and Minister Skunk, did you?"  
  
Rock nodded. "I never thought that they could be so rude."  
  
"Don't mind them-they're just edgy about the election. They'd turn on each other if it would secure their vote," Patrick informed dismissively.  
  
Spike adjusted his glasses. "So what is this election all about? I understand that Metropolis needs a new president, but is there any more to it than that?"  
  
"Yer right, Spike," responded Gerra, and everyone immediately turned to the source of the gruff voice. "There's goin' ter be a hearin' about the murders o' Boon an' Lamp. Forensic scientists 'ave been trying to find out what 'appened to 'em that way they can find out the killers and present it ter the Metropolitans in a trial."  
  
"Boon and Lamp were murdered?" Devin exclaimed, sounding only half- surprised.  
  
"Yeah, if there are any linkages between the deaths of the two men and the presidential candidates, they'll be taken out of the election and thrown in jail," Fornax added.  
  
"Who's running in the election, then?" queried Nusku.  
  
Fornax took another sip of the red wine before replying. "Lucifer Ryon, Suzerain Castor, Weasel Skunk, Rose Draconian, and Duke Red. Of course, with that group, the new president's already been chosen," he finished as he drained what was left in his glass.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Spike asked.  
  
"I don't know if you remember the original Ziggurat celebrations, but President Boon himself said that no one stood a chance against Duke Red in a Metropolitan election for president. Unless it is found out that Duke Red was somehow tied to the deaths or he steps down from the campaign, the others don't have a prayer of a chance," Fornax concluded.  
  
All this talk of the murders reminded Rock of something he had meant to ask the Marduks. "Say, Devin, Sam, Orion, Patrick-You wouldn't happen to know anything else about these murders, would you?"  
  
"What do you mean, Rock?" Patrick asked, his voice sounding slightly uneasy.  
  
"I mean that Suzerain Castor told me of something that Mintaka saw a couple of months ago. Mintaka said he saw some men-"  
  
"Five," intercepted Sanguine.  
  
Rock shot her a murderous glower before continuing. "Yes, five men in Marduk uniforms enter the building on the day of Boon and Lamp's deaths. I definitely wasn't there, and I never gave orders for you to go there. Would you care to explain?"  
  
Devin and Sam looked at each other. Devin answered for the two. "We don't know anything about it, Rock, honestly."  
  
Patrick and Orion cast each other innocent glances, each waiting for the other to come up with an excuse. Patrick, being more of the loudmouth came to the rescue. "We don't know anything, either."  
  
Rock raised a suspicious eyebrow as he glared Patrick straight in the eye. Patrick was a pretty convincing liar, though he would fall apart if you knew which buttons to push. "Your blood is no object, Patrick."  
  
Patrick opened his mouth to speak but Orion interrupted him. "Lance was the one that said it was a direct order from Duke Red."  
  
Patrick slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply. What he had been about to say was nowhere near even half as stupid as what Orion had just revealed. When Orion realized this, too, he gasped and closed his mouth, grinding his teeth.  
  
"Well, Rock, it appears we have an all-out confession," Sam announced. "Turns out only five of us partook in the assassination, two of which lack the self-dignity to step down from being a Marduk after such an incident," he said, circling them like a hungry vulture.  
  
"I couldn't agree with you more, Sam. What should we do with these barbarians, Rock?" Devin concurred, a scowl on face.  
  
Sweat was beginning to pour down the faces of the two men, the angered eyes of the other Marduks on them.  
  
"I'd say we show them how Boon and Lamp felt," Rock suggested coldly. "But since at least one of them was given justice by those rampaging robots, we've only four to take down-Orion, Patrick, ...?"  
  
"Gill, Deimos and Ray," answered Patrick fearfully.  
  
"Deimos listened to you dunderheads?" cried Devin. "Hanging around me a lot of the time you'd think he have some..." Hr trailed off as Rock held up his hand to silence him.  
  
"We've six, now, do we? Well that's another one down. Unfortunately, those robots took care of Deimos, too. A shame-he'd always been a valuable addition to the Party... As for Gill and Ray-they've been missing since the collapse of the Ziggurat. Unless we find them, they're not our concern," Rock said in the same angered, yet steady tone. "Meanwhile these two deserve-"  
  
"Hang on," Sanguine interrupted once again. "Shouldn't I have some say in this, since I'm the new leader and all? I may not have been familiar with this incident, but I have heard enough to come to a fair punishment."  
  
Rock opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off by another voice. "I'm not trying to be biased, but I say we listen to what she has to say," Blade voiced, having spoken for the first time this evening.  
  
Rock sighed and turned to Sanguine. "Fine, then. What do you say?"  
  
Sanguine looked to Patrick and Orion. "Lance only said it was an order from Duke Red, right? He had no actual proof that it was true?"  
  
The two nodded.  
  
"Did the five of you carry out this mission by yourselves or were you lead by someone else-like Duke Red, perhaps?"  
  
They made no acknowledgement towards her question.  
  
"There is no point in remaining silent. We know you killed them, and we can use that information against you, so spill it or I hand your condemnation over to Rock where he can do whatever he wishes to within his- "  
  
"M-Minister Weasel Skunk..." stammered Orion.  
  
A gasp rang through the Marduks and Spike's glass fell to the floor, shattering into many small shards and spilling its contents. "I knew that old fool wasn't to be trusted." "That guilty look should have given it away..." "What's the bet he'll frame Duke Red for it?" "Yeah, he's trying to give the Marduks a bad name!"  
  
"I say we rat him out right now!" Dactyl clamoured over the voices of the others.  
  
"Wait just a minute!" Blade ordered, stepping into the middle of the throng. "While Skunk may have accompanied them, that doesn't mean it was on his order. Maybe it really was Duke Red that told him to escort them?"  
  
"Boy's right. How do we know t'wasn't Duke Red 'imself? Skunk could've just been obeying an order," reasoned Gerra, nodding his head in agreement.  
  
"My father wouldn't give such an order to have a president and his advisor murdered. He's not that selfish, and besides, he wouldn't have a motive," Rock countered. "And if he'd wanted the job done, he'd have sent me to command, not Skunk."  
  
"You see-that's the problem with you, Rock," said Blade sympathetically. "You trust Duke Red too much to admit that he may have done something wrong. This is one of those times when you have to let go of what your heart feels and listen to your mind."  
  
"Duke Red wouldn't send Skunk to kill Boon," Rock repeated, sounding slightly exasperated.  
  
There was silence among them all. Rock finally turned to Sanguine. "You believe me, don't you?"  
  
Sanguine looked at the floor, unsure of how to answer. "Well...I...I can't quite say. Lance took the answer to his grave and...Duke Red can be a bit...um...They say the closer someone is to you, the more they blur..."  
  
Rock gnashed his teeth within his mouth, trying to prevent an outburst. He then turned to scowl at the others. "That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it because I know it's the truth." With that, he stormed off towards the balcony.  
  
They watched him disappear from view behind one of the curtains leading to the balcony before they all turned to each other, at a loss for words. Sanguine bit her lip and then broke the unnerving silence. "What do you guys think?"  
  
"All in favour of the murder being Duke Red's command?" Fornax vociferated to the group. When they all merely glanced at each other with dumb expressions without putting up their hands, Fornax spoke again. "Speak now or forever hold your peace."  
  
Again no hands went up, and so he made his conclusion. "There you go. No one actually agrees with it, just stating it as a possibility."  
  
Sanguine looked once more to the figure standing out on the balcony, blurred by the translucent curtains and then back to the Marduks. "You guys try to squeeze some more answers out of those two. Try to ask Duke Red if you can but be subtle about it. He may decide to silence those that know what they shouldn't and Spike, clean up that mess. I'm going to see Rock."  
  
Spike gave a succinct, "Yes, ma'am", before saluting and obeying the request.  
  
She pushed the curtains out of her way slowly and slipped up slowly behind him. He was leaning against the handrail, looking up at the dark night sky. Her voice startled him, almost causing him to jump.  
  
"Rock?"  
  
He turned to face her. "Oh. Come to tell me that my father's now going to take out the candidates in the election?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"No. I'm sorry, Rock. I didn't mean it the way you took it. I trust that Duke Red wouldn't do such a thing as much as you do and so do the rest of the Marduks. There were just including it as a practicability. Personally, I think it was that Draconian lady or even Skunk himself."  
  
"Hn..." Rock sighed, turning back to the railing.  
  
Sanguine moved to his side and placed her hands on the banister. She lifted her head to try to see what he was gazing so intently at. "What is it?"  
  
Rock seemed to hesitate with his answer. "...The stars..."  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"Nothing. I just look at them often. I just go to the window of my room and look out. I can stand there for hours, but I'll stop if my father comes in."  
  
"Why? Are you afraid of what he might say?"  
  
Rock didn't reply.  
  
"There's no reason to be afraid. I agree that they're beautiful, but I have a feeling that their beauty isn't what you seek in them... Am I right or am I right?"  
  
Rock looked her directly in the eye before the heavens recaptured his attention. "You're right. I assume that now you want to know what it is I look for?"  
  
Sanguine nodded.  
  
"I know this sounds crazy, but...I've kind of come to believe it after all of the stories I've heard or read. You know-the ones about people who have looked to the stars believing that the ones they love who absence has been prolonged allows them to seek solace?"  
  
"Yes. You're talking about your parents...?"  
  
"That's right. And sometimes, if I stare long and hard enough at one particular star formation in the sky, it begins to remind me of them. I think that they're watching over me..."  
  
Sanguine looked over to him and saw those bright blue eyes begin to water. "You okay?"  
  
Rock blinked and turned his head away from her. "Yeah..."  
  
She lay a hand to his shoulder. "Don't be afraid to shed your tears. Crying means that you care and have a noble heart, Rock..."  
  
He shrugged her hand away, wiped his tears on his sleeve and whipped around, his face now angry. "I'm a Marduk, not some sympathetic little boy! I'm not supposed to be a weakling, in case you haven't noticed!" he snapped.  
  
Sanguine pulled away, shocked at his violent outburst. She cast a sideways glance down to the streets below and remained silent for a moment. "I'm sorry-you're right. You're no longer an infant-it's time to stand on your own two feet and walk." She moved away and sat on the stone bench, Rock watching her do so. She averted her gaze from him, keeping it focused on the ground. "But you know that people who have known real pain are less likely to inflict it upon others...It's why I don't understand why you hurt those robots."  
  
"They deserve it. And...I mustn't know real pain, then...Only pain that controls my violent actions and has no sympathizing effect on me..."  
  
Rock noticed that she was unusually quiet, though feared to ask why. He no longer felt anger, but the sympathy he shouldn't have. He took a wary step closer, tilting his gaze to try to get a look at her lowered face. "Sanguine? I-"  
  
"Nothing. It's nothing! It's...just..." she shook her head through sniffles and mildly choked sobs. She brought a hand to her eye to wipe away the stream of tears.  
  
Rock moved closer, now pining even more to get a look at her face. "It's just what? Was it something I-"  
  
"No, I was just thinking about how you must feel about all this," she replied, finally raising her head but not looking at him. "You saw both of your parents die right before your eyes when you were young, then Duke Red brought you to a strange city. You were assigned the merciless job of Marduk leader and you want Duke Red to like you, but no matter how hard you try, he always pushes you away. Only to make matters worse, now that you've recovered from a long term in hospital, most of which you were in a coma, you find that you've been replaced as a Marduk leader-the one thing that seemed to be your only key to attention from Duke Red. And if that's not bad enough, the new leader's a girl that looks and acts just like your mother!"  
  
Rock was quiet for a moment, regarding her with disbelief and empathy. "How can you know my feelings so well?" He finally realized what he was saying and whirled away from her, scowl having returned. "Not that you'd understand them. The war didn't reach your country, you're loved by everyone you know and you wouldn't know my anger, hatred, and sorrow."  
  
"I'm loved by everyone I know?" Sanguine repeated, confused. "Says you. What about VP Draconian and Minister Skunk? Besides, if I'm loved by everyone I know, that would include you, too, wouldn't it, Rock?"  
  
He made a small gasp, having forgotten to factor in that part. He turned nervously, casting sideways glances. "Yeah...I guess. But you know what I mean by that, don't you?"  
  
Sanguine nodded, wiping her eyes again, a smile now on her face.  
  
Rock turned away again. "Well, as I was going to say, how can you cry for my parents when you hardly knew them?"  
  
"I just do. There's no explanation except that I'm human."  
  
"The end of one life is merely the beginning of thousands more, so why do you weep for the dead? I rejoice for they have died for me," Rock answered, folding his arms.  
  
"You say that, but you don't mean it." Sanguine had now stopped crying and the smile disappeared.  
  
Rock shifted his gaze from the heavens to the ground. "Maybe you're right. It was just a saying I'd heard some time ago, though I can't remember when. All I can say is that I'm not afraid of death because, as I've said before, I believe my parents are waiting for me. Somewhere, their spirits are waiting for mine to run its course and finally join them in a land we can only begin to comprehend. And that is why I live my Marduk days to the fullest, knowing that if I can do good in this lifetime, the life after should treat me kindly. It's also why I was a little upset when the Ziggurat's destruction didn't kill me. Unlike you, I've nothing much to live for."  
  
"An orphan will remain an orphan until the day what made him so takes that away."  
  
Rock pivoted to face her, a confused expression on his face. "What's that supposed to mean? Is it some sort of philosophical question or something?"  
  
"Not quite. I just composed it myself right now. Isn't its meaning obvious?"  
  
Rock stared at her, contemplating it a moment. "An orphan...what made him so takes that away?" he mumbled, trying to make sense of it.  
  
"What defines an orphan?"  
  
"One whose parents have passed away."  
  
"Exactly, and what is that called?"  
  
"Death?"  
  
"If death took the parents, then what will it eventually do to the orphan?"  
  
"Take their life, too... Now I get it," Rock said, turning away. He smiled. "Clever."  
  
Sanguine stood up from the bench and walked over to where he stood, taking his hand in hers consolingly. "I know. If it hurts you, just think of it this way; what is pain but a violent pleasure?"  
  
Rock lifted his head, hardened blue eyes meeting with softened green eyes. "Hm, violent pleasure...I like that."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, I think that Rock was way out of character...and so was Duke Red, while I'm at it. Maybe even Devin, Orion and Patrick, too... Such as I don't think Rock would be that feeling towards anyone but Duke Red, he wouldn't cuss that badly, and he probably isn't that sensitive about his parents. As for Duke Red, he's definitely not that open and affectionate towards Rock, but then again his recent hospitalization could have done a number on his brain...  
  
Oh yeah-and do you like Sanguine's comment about the orphan thingummy? I just love that line! It should be like the motto or whatever you call it for my story and the fact that I came up with it myself is quite "clever", as Rock says.  
  
Still confused about Suzerain Castor and the Nin-agal? Don't fret-there'll be more about them in upcoming chapters (if I remember, point is, I don't know much about them, myself. They were completely spontaneous characters along with Draconian. Only Nin I've got so far is Mintaka). 


	8. Crime and Punishment

Before I continue, I'd just like to give a big thank you to two-time reviewer, Anthy's Worst Fear! As my vocal music teacher likes to say, "You're so wonderful!"  
  
7. Crime and Punishment  
  
"Rock, you're in charge of the training today, since I'll be busy directing the construction crews," ordered Duke Red, his attention only half-focused on the boy standing obediently at his side.  
  
"Yes, Father." He turned to leave.  
  
"Though I may join you later. I hope that will be alright?"  
  
"Yes, Father."  
  
Rock strode away from the man, calling to Sanguine, who had been mesmerized by all of the activity. She turned and followed him inside the rotating doors of the Ziggurat. She followed him down a sunlit corridor. The morning light that had made Sanguine squint, even behind her sunglasses, disappeared as they entered the door they had come to at the end of the hall.  
  
Rock held the door open for her before stepping inside himself. Sanguine stood peering around the change room of benches and lockers. On the far side was a sliding door that must have led to outside of the Ziggurat. From here, she could also see the showers. She felt him brush past her and reach into a small chest on the other side of the room. He pulled something out and turned around, walking back to her.  
  
"Here. Get changed. I'm going to wake the others." He shoved the garments into her chest before turning to walk out the door they had come through.  
  
"Rock, wait!"  
  
He paused, hand on the doorknob, but didn't turn.  
  
"What did Duke Red exactly mean by 'training'? This looks like a gym uniform. Isn't the regular uniform I'm wearing enough?"  
  
"What do you think this is? The Marduks have training drills and exercises to do, too, you know. We don't get to where the robots are by vehicle-we use our own two feet." Without another word, he left, slamming the door resolutely behind him.  
  
She took off her sunglasses and scowled at the closed door where Rock had been standing, pouting doubtfully. "Hmph..." She stuck out her tongue before laying the gym uniform down on the nearest bench and sweeping her hat off.  
  
"Up! Up! Get up, ladies!"  
  
"We're not ladies, Mr lady's man!" Devin retorted, propping himself up and rubbing his eyes groggily.  
  
"What do you mean?" questioned Rock, obviously confused.  
  
Gerra slipped out from under the covers and rubbed his forehead ruefully. "'E's talkin' about last night, what with that alone time you an' Sanguine 'ave been spendin' together."  
  
"It means nothing," Rock said defiantly.  
  
Dactyl leapt out of bed and sneered mischievously at Rock. "Yeah, that's what they all say. What about the day Nusku and I say you two sharing a drink at the café?"  
  
"I explained that already."  
  
Rock's sunglasses were nearly knocked off and him nearly bowled over when he felt a sturdy slap against his back. He turned to see Fornax.  
  
"Eh, don't feel bad. A little physical desire never hurt anyone. Though I won't tease you, if you don't want me to. I can't do anything about the others, though."  
  
Rock curled under Fornax's strong hand and reached down to pick up his sunglasses. "It never hurt anyone but me!" He slipped away from them and to the door. "Just shut up and get up-we've training to do." He slammed the door behind him.  
  
Patrick smirked as he scratched his pyjama-covered chest and sat on the edge of his bed. "I've been telling that boy for years to lighten up. If he doesn't do it soon, he'll turn out to be just like Sam, beard and everything."  
  
"What a nightmare!" Spike cried, causing all to burst out laughing or at least smile except for Sam himself.  
  
Rock wrapped his slender digits around the doorknob gingerly. He took a deep breath in and prayed for him not to blush in her presence, the points made by the others getting the better of him. "Here goes," he sighed as he opened the door and peered around the change room. She was nowhere in sight. "Sanguine?"  
  
He moved further into the room, closing the door behind him and turning around to the sound of a scream. He gave a small yell and whipped back around, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes.  
  
"You could've knocked!"  
  
"I called your name for goodness sake! Why didn't you answer?!"  
  
"I was about to if you had just waited a moment longer!"  
  
Rock growled, but continued to rub his eyes as he listened to more rustling behind him.  
  
"I should gouge your eyes out for that! You had better forget that image!" There was more rustling and then it stopped. "It's okay to look, now."  
  
Rock shook his head and gave his eye one final massage before turning around. A scowling Sanguine stood there in a Marduk training uniform of blue leotard covered by a loose white T-shirt, white socks and red running shoes. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail high on her head. The male's uniform would have had swimming trunks instead of the leotard. (A/N: Well, obviously!)  
  
"Fine. I'm going to get changed, so just go into the gym and wait for the rest of us, okay?" He said, pointing to the door opposite the showers.  
  
Sanguine pushed her Marduk uniform further against the wall, not turning to them but keeping a shifty glare fixed on Rock. She walked past him, following his outstretched arm and keeping and eye on him still. She finally let go when she disappeared behind the white steel door.  
  
Rock glowered at the door a moment longer before sighing and flopping down on the bench. He slumped against the wall and raised his head to stare at the ceiling wearily. Staring at the stone white made him remember the white shirt Dactyl wore...which made him remember the first day he met the boy. That led to the incident that brought them together...drinking from Sanguine's pop can... No! Think of nothing-I must cleanse my mind!  
  
Staring more...brought him to the white he'd just seen that had concealed that bust... NO! Even worse! Rock shook his head again and stood up to finally get dressed into his uniform.  
  
*****  
  
"Fifty jumping jacks," ordered Rock to the Marduks. He couldn't help but feel amusement watching them obey the order. Watching Gerra or Sam jump up and down was hard not to laugh at. He turned away from them to avoid an outburst.  
  
When they had finished, Spike, Dactyl and Nusku were panting slightly. "Find a partner for the next exercise," Rock ordered, his voice echoing around the gym.  
  
Many of the pairs were formed almost immediately. Sanguine watched as the pairs formed; Sam and Gerra, Orion and Patrick, Fornax and Devin, Dactyl and Nusku, and then the final option of her brother, Blade and Spike. She looked to Rock standing across the gym, who saw this, rolled his eyes, sighed, and gaited over to her. "Just my luck..."  
  
"One partner sit down on the floor, legs straight out in front, and the other stand behind them like so," he explained, standing right behind Sanguine.  
  
She glared at him a moment before sitting down with her legs out in front of her like half of the others were doing.  
  
"Partners on the floor raise your arms straight up."  
  
Fornax was the first to do so, then Nusku, then Sanguine herself.  
  
"Partners standing up-bend down, reach under the arms of your partner like this. You may want to hook your arms behind their back to get a firm grip. Position your legs so that you're more stable and won't fall at a slight movement."  
  
Sanguine didn't know what to feel when Rock slipped his arms in front of her raised ones and pressed the backs of his hands firmly against her back. "Now partners on the floor, keep your hands up and try to pull them downwards as hard as you can, but the standing partners are going to prevent you from doing that. Go." She felt Rock's warm breath against the top of her head, delaying the pull of her arms a few seconds.  
  
She finally tried to lower her arms as Rock had commanded. On feeling that she was becoming unsuccessful, she forced harder against his arms. She felt him move his legs, digging them into her side to keep from being thrown over. They both stopped and looked up as they heard a yell and then a thud.  
  
Everyone else had stopped, and Rock was now rushing over to Dactyl, who lay on the floor in front of a confused Nusku, lying on his back and groaning. "You okay, Dactyl?" Rock asked, kneeling beside him.  
  
The orange-haired boy raised his head and sat up slowly. "Yeah...I think so...I'm just dizzy, that's all... And it hurts in a couple of places..."  
  
Rock looked up. "Yeah, guys-I forgot to mention that... Make sure that your body masses don't contrast each other so much that your partner throws you like Nusku did Dactyl."  
  
Nusku laughed dryly. "Heh...Sorry, Dactyl. I guess I don't know my own strength..."  
  
"Switch roles!" Rock called, getting up and walking back to Sanguine.  
  
Sanguine stood up and watched as Rock sat down in front of her. He raised his arms and she reached down nervously, entangling their arms as he had done. "Go!" he yelled to the others, and she was almost thrown over. She mimicked the action he had done before to keep himself steady. She heard him make small grunts trying to lower his arms, and so she leaned backwards, taking his weight to advantage. Before she knew it, he had yelled, "Stop!"  
  
She loosened her grip but didn't entangle their arms. Instead, Rock loosened them by standing up and brushing her away. "The normal route-Sam, Devin, Orion and Patrick-you know the way, then twelve laps around the Ziggurat! Out the change room doors!"  
  
"What?!" came an exclamation from Dactyl and Spike while Blade and Nusku merely seemed surprised.  
  
"That's right, you heard me! Get moving!"  
  
The men hurried to the door of the gym, into the change room, and out the door leading outside. Sanguine, the last to leave, was casting worried glances at Rock, hesitant to leave out the door that he was holding open. He lay a hand to her back and ushered her outside. "Come on!"  
  
The new Marduk recruits followed closely behind the older members for a couple of blocks, and once they had finished that route and had come to the Ziggurat, all of the new members except for Gerra were at least panting. Both Dactyl and Sanguine were struggling to keep up as they ran their laps around the Ziggurat.  
  
"If...only...I had...known that...this was what...the Marduks did every...morning!" Dactyl gasped.  
  
"Save your...breath, kid...Use it instead to run!" Sanguine replied, just as tired, though better keeping up.  
  
When they had finally reached the change room, Nusku, Dactyl, Spike, and Sanguine flopped down on the bench nearest them disconcertedly, out of breath and near passing out. Rock gave them a pathetic look, though he was also slightly panting. "Sanguine! You're a Marduk leader? Disgraceful..." he taunted with disdain. "To the swimming pool!"  
  
**** "Father-you're here..." said Rock as he entered the tiled room. Sure enough, there stood Duke Red, gazing over the waters quietly.  
  
Duke Red turned to face the entering Marduks. "Yes, I thought I'd coach you in the drownproofing..."  
  
They all slipped into the pool, except for Gerra, who stood at the edge, hesitant to get in. Patrick noticed this and made a comment. "What's the matter, Gerra? Can't swim or hydrophobic?"  
  
"Well, how would he have learned to swim in the first place if he's hydrophobic?" asked Blade, having been the first to notice the flaw.  
  
"What are you asking me? I'm not Gerra," retorted Patrick. "Well, Ger? You scared or not?"  
  
"It's not a matter of being scared, Patrick-"  
  
"Let the man speak, Blade!"  
  
"Blade's right...I'm not scared, was just never taught 'ow..." Gerra answered hesitantly.  
  
Duke Red turned on hearing this comment, slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Would it be possible for one of you-that knows how to swim-to give Gerra a basic tutorial?"  
  
Sam edged out of the water, dripping form head to toe as he moved over to Duke Red. "Maybe that should have been one of the recruit specifications," he muttered to the blond man.  
  
Duke Red sighed again. "You're probably right. I'll have to be more careful next time. Meanwhile, we can't have the Party drowning because of a flood in the line of duty. You are allotted the far side of the pool along the length."  
  
Sam gave a curt nod before veering Gerra to the area and Duke Red turned to the rest of the Marduks. "Okay, men...er...and woman...Warm up laps. Four lengths!"  
  
Rock, Devin, Patrick, and Orion found a lane at the end of the pool and stood poised to swim. The others caught on quickly, and each found their own lane, Sanguine taking the one on the end beside Rock.  
  
"On your mark, get set...go!" vociferated Duke Red, and they shot off down the length of the pool-two of them anyway.  
  
Rock had been in the lead halfway down, and smiled at the fact that he was still the fastest swimmer, even with the new recruits. His confidence was short lived when Sanguine finally caught up, and began to overtake him, only making him do the freestyle faster-he wasn't going to lose this unspoken race to her.  
  
The two continued their single race to the end of the pool, before Sanguine turned and headed back the other way a second before Rock. Again, the same thing, each one getting in the lead only to be overtaken again by the other. Finally, they had come to the final length. It came down to nanoseconds, but one had definitely finished first. Rock barrelled right into the wall of the pool, almost forgetting to put out his hands to stop himself. He coughed and hacked for a moment on some of the water he had swallowed, before panting heavily and throwing his arms up in the air. "Hah! I won!"  
  
Sanguine lay her head down on her folded arms on the pool deck, trying to catch her breath, though she looked up at the sudden outburst. "One, who said we were in a race, two, you only won by a very precise photo- finish, and three, I don't think your father liked your announcement very much."  
  
Rock glanced at her a moment before looking up at Duke Red, who was looming over him and shaking his head. Once the others had finished their laps, they all began drownproofing exercises, before leaving the pool and heading for the change rooms.  
  
Sanguine was wringing her hair out and heading towards them when she heard Duke Red clear his throat. She turned, and noticed him giving her a stern eye. She quickly made to stand at attention. "Yes, sir?"  
  
"When you have finished changing, I would like to see you in my office, if you please, Sanguine," he replied simply before brushing past her and out the alternate door.  
  
***  
  
Metropolis was progressing well with its reconstruction. Streets were getting paved, buildings being built-yes-it would take a while longer, and it wouldn't be exactly the same as before, but it would have to do for now. Until he became president.  
  
Duke Red was jolted from his reverie on hearing a knock at the door. He turned to the magnificent threshold. "Come in."  
  
The door opened and in stepped Sanguine, oblivious of the fact that he was watching her as she rung her hair out and closed the giant, oaken door behind her. She squeezed it in one long strand as she continued to walk forward before looking up to the man standing before her. They leered at each other for a moment or two, then Sanguine let her hair dry itself by letting go of it as fast as she could to stand at attention. "I come at your request, Mr Red, sir."  
  
Duke Red lowered his gaze to the growing puddle of water on the marble floor and then shifted it back to her. "Yes, I did ask for your presence." He turned away from her and stepped over to the window, glaring out through it to the city below.  
  
"As you and I both know, you are the current Marduk leader. We also know that Rock was the former. Am I correct?"  
  
"Yes, as always, sir."  
  
"Then it is my assumption that you agree with me when I say that you most definitely make the better of the two?"  
  
Sanguine didn't know what to make of the comment, and glanced to the puddle on the elegant floor. "Uh...Well, I wouldn't exactly say that, I mean Rock and I are both at different levels of leadership and gunning, and while I agree I amount to a formidable commander, I may not be accustomed to that of Marduk commander..."  
  
Duke Red whirled to face her. "You speak from your heart. You're modest. I like that, but are you absolutely sure about Rock and you?"  
  
She bit her lip. "No, not really..."  
  
Duke Red moved forward to her, placing a hand around her shoulder. "Oh? Then why not eliminate your adversary?"  
  
She didn't raise her head, afraid to glare into those calculating, green eyes, and therefore kept her gaze glued to the floor. "Because then I would get in trouble..."  
  
"Why? As long as no one knows, they can't convict you of the crime, and I won't tell," he replied, standing erectly again and clasping his hands behind his back. "Of course, Rock is experienced in the field of assassins. He'd know every trick you could possibly have up your sleeve and then some. You would have to outsmart him-to outfox him."  
  
"How would I do that?" Sanguine asked, hesitant with the question.  
  
Duke Red began to step towards his desk and flop down in the chair. "Maybe if you could somehow lure him...Trick him into thinking that you're harmless..."  
  
She mumbled the words slowly to herself, trying to make sense of them. "You mean like, treat him with respect and everything?"  
  
"Exactly. Make him care for you too much to hurt you," corrected Duke Red, drumming his fingers against each other contrivingly.  
  
Sanguine stood mumbling, repeating the words to herself for a while longer before turning to Duke Red. "...Yes, sir. I shall deceive and then terminate my rival, Rock."  
  
"You do that, my dear," Duke Red replied with a nonchalant smirk as she left the room.  
  
Once she was out of the room, she paused in front of the closed doorway. "Bring Death to Rock...Goodness knows that's what he needs."  
  
***  
  
"Rock, I have a favour to ask of you."  
  
The boy looked up from the gun he had been polishing. He put the cloth and firearm down on the bed and stood up. "Yes, Father?"  
  
Duke Red motioned for Rock to come out into the hall with him, Rock obeying the order and being ushered down it. "I would like you to help Sanguine with the filing and paperwork. She'll need some guidance, seeing as she isn't familiar with the format of everything."  
  
"Uh, sure..." Rock replied, irresolute to enter through the closed door of her room for fear of a repeat of the previous incident.  
  
Duke Red reached over Rock's shoulder and turned the knob, opening the door, Rock half-closing his eyes as the man did so. To his relief, she was merely sitting on the floor in her Marduk uniform and writing on a mass of paper contained in a file folder.  
  
Duke Red ushered him inside, Rock almost tripping on his reluctant own feet. Sanguine looked up, glancing first from the boy whose glare was hidden by sunglasses to the blond man. "Yes? I'm finishing the paperwork as you asked, sir."  
  
"Yes, and I thought you might need some help, seeing as dinner will be served in twenty minutes and you probably would want to finish by then," answered Duke Red, standing poised in the doorway to close it.  
  
"Oh..." was Sanguine's only response as she glowered absent-mindedly at Rock.  
  
"Remember, twenty minutes. You two play nice, now," with that he turned quickly and slammed the door shut behind him.  
  
"But-" the two protested, unheard by the man who was now locking the door behind him. He whipped again to face the hall, dropping the key in his suit pocket with a smug expression of satisfaction on his face.  
  
"Yes, twenty minutes and a bit should be enough... Either for one or three to emerge," he sighed, strutting away down the hall.  
  
"Look, I didn't volunteer to help, so be thankful that it was an order," Rock snapped, scowling back at her from behind his glasses.  
  
"All you'll do is distract me, what with your ugly face," she countered, refusing to look at him as she turned back to the files.  
  
Rock clenched his teeth and knelt down beside her. "Let's just get this over and done with, okay?"  
  
"Why do you wear sunglasses inside? It seems pointless to me."  
  
"Well, I was hoping that the darkness would filter out annoying, career-stealing philosophers."  
  
"Done! Finally!"  
  
"Exactly twenty minutes, too. Let's get downstairs before Patrick devours our portions," Rock jested, glancing at the pocket watch which had once belonged to his father before tucking it quickly back in his pocket.  
  
Both got up from the floor and moved over to the door. Sanguine curled her fingers around the knob and turned, but it wouldn't. She tried again, harder this time. She used both hands and tried to turn it, to no avail. "That's strange, it won't turn..."  
  
"Out of the way," Rock said, brushing her aside and fiddling with the doorknob himself. After five tries, he gave up. "It must be locked, but why?"  
  
"I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm tired of waiting! Open, you stupid door!" Sanguine exclaimed as she kicked the wood furiously.  
  
"Look, you keep trying while I go sit down," Rock mentioned as he went back and sat down on the floor.  
  
Sanguine placed her hands akimbo and scowled furiously at him. "What?! Why do you get to rest?"  
  
"I'm tired, and, I believe that if we were indeed locked in here, it was for a very good reason." He lay back, folding his arms behind his head as he lay on the floor. "I intend to obey those orders."  
  
"Helplessly feebleminded cretin..." she muttered angrily to herself as she turned back to the door to continue with fruitless attempts."  
  
****  
  
"Patrick, Dactyl, could you go up to Sanguine's room and see what those two are up to, please? We're halfway through our dinner and they haven't even shown up yet," Duke Red asked from his seat at the head of the table.  
  
Patrick and Dactyl both stood up innocently, nodding curtly before leaving the room.  
  
***  
  
"It could be jammed," Rock finally suggested after a long silence and from his seat on the floor. "We could thrust our combined weight against it, and that could loosen it."  
  
"Good, then. Help me!"  
  
Rock eased up slowly from his lazy position on the floor and walked over where Sanguine stood facing the door. They both placed a shoulder on it and pushed. After a few fruitless moments, Rock pulled away.  
  
"We probably aren't using our weight at the same time. On the count of three, we ram the door, got it?"  
  
Sanguine nodded as the two moved around a foot away from the door. She stood poised to hit with her left shoulder and him with his right, both of them facing each other.  
  
"One, two, three!" Rock cried. They both slammed against the door, and continued to even after the failed initial hit.  
  
"Come on, Rock! You're a man, aren't you? Push!" Sanguine yelled.  
  
"Legally I'm not a man until I'm eighteen!" he grunted back.  
  
"Mr. Red said they were upstairs, right?" questioned Dactyl as he followed Patrick down the corridor to Sanguine's room.  
  
"That's right," confirmed Patrick. "And we've checked every room up here except for Sanguine's, though why Rock would be in there I don't know. Seeing as he 'doesn't like her' and all..." He looked up and away from Dactyl.  
  
"That's funny..." Dactyl voiced for Patrick's thoughts. "She normally leaves her door open..."  
  
The two quickened their pace down the hallway until they came to the door. They pressed their ears against it and flinched on each bump against it.  
  
"Ugh, Rock! We can do this... Come on!" the two boys heard Sanguine groan.  
  
An even harder bump against the door.  
  
"I'm trying. A little more... You need to push harder!" came Rock's reply, seemingly out of breath.  
  
That was all Patrick needed to hear. He pulled away and covered Dactyl's ears, ushering him away from the door in doing so. "Euh...Dactyl, forget what you just heard. If there is an unexpected event that happens in nine months' time and Duke Red asks us, we don't know anything!"  
  
"What 'unexpected event'?" queried the naïve boy innocently, reluctant to leave.  
  
"Nothing, nothing. Let's just go tell Duke Red that Sanguine and Rock are um...'busy'..."  
  
"'Busy'?"  
  
"Yes, yes, now go!" Patrick gave one mighty heave that almost sent Dactyl flying off his feet. Walking forward was the only thing that had kept him balanced.  
  
Sanguine let out a huge sigh and collapsed against the wall just to the left of the door. "Face it, Rock...We're not going to get through. I have a feeling that we've been locked in and whoever locked us in doesn't want us to get out..."  
  
Rock pulled away from the door, though he continued to scowl at it. He took off his sunglasses. "You're probably right. Pity, I'm hungry. Guess I won't be eating tonight."  
  
Sanguine eased away from the wall, swept her hat off and threw it onto the nighttable as she flopped down on the bed. "All of today's exertion has made me tired. I can't even think of eating without regurgitating what I swallow." She lay back, so that she was sprawled out over the bed on her back.  
  
Rock sauntered over to the other side of the bed and watched her lie there with her arms wide open and eyes closed. Her long strands of brown hair curled across the magenta covers. The malleable mattress moulded to the shape of her body. Staring at the silent, serene and still figure made him jump when it finally moved.  
  
She had opened her eyes, and was now glaring at him though her view of him was inverted. She sat up and pulled her legs up on the bed after kicking off her boots before turning to him. "If we spend the night here, you'll need a place to sleep."  
  
Rock looked away to hide his crimson cheeks. "I suppose..."  
  
"You can share the bed, just make sure you keep to yourself," she said, indicating to the side of the bed he was closest to.  
  
He placed his glasses down on the bed side table on his side of the bed and slipped out of his Marduk boots, as Sanguine had. He pulled the covers away and sat down on the very edge. "Don't worry, I will," he said with a hint of contempt in his voice.  
  
She eyed him suspiciously as he undid his belt and suspenders and lay them on the table before lying down, facing away from her. He pulled the covers up over his shoulders and remained very secluded on his designated side of the bed. Once she was satisfied with what he intended to do, she slipped her jacket, belt and suspenders off as he had and lay down close to the edge of her side of the bed.  
  
Sanguine stared out the window. She could feel the colder weather from outside and pulled the blankets tighter around her bare arms and right up to her neck, much the same as Rock was doing on the other side of the bed. The sky was almost pitch black, even though the lights of the newly constructed Metropolis shone brightly through the windows of the Ziggurat. There were no stars as there had been the night before at the ball. The lights from outside the Ziggurat danced in her eyes until she closed them drowsily and fell asleep, her stomach feeling empty and heart beating too fast for comfort.  
  
****  
  
"Mother... Father..."  
  
"It's okay, I'm here, little one. Talk to me..."  
  
"Father doesn't love me..."  
  
"I'm not your Father! You repay my kindness with nothing but impudence."  
  
"I try... I've tried so hard... Mother, help me..."  
  
"You men leave me alone. You've taken my husband, what more could you want?"  
  
"Just leave me alone! I don't want to die!"  
  
"He's a fine son, Melody... I couldn't ask for more. He'll be a strong leader some day just like his father!"  
  
"That's right, father... I'll make you proud..."  
  
"An orphan will remain an orphan until the day what made him so takes that away..."  
  
"Don't delude yourself, Father. Only you should sit upon the throne of power!"  
  
"You trust Duke Red too much to admit that he may have done something wrong. This is one of those times when you have to let go of what your heart feels and listen to your mind."  
  
"My father wouldn't give such an order to have a president and his advisor murdered."  
  
"People who have known real pain are less likely to inflict it upon others."  
  
"I mustn't know real pain, then..."  
  
"He's the best leader the Marduks have ever known."  
  
"I'm a Marduk, you idiot!"  
  
"I won't tell Duke Red if I get Tima online, okay?"  
  
"You shouldn't allow the world to be ruled by a mere robot!"  
  
"I'm not a robot, I'm not!"  
  
"If you're a human, who's your father, then?"  
  
"You fool!"  
  
"Ah!"  
  
Wolf chased after Melody. The two were still young, probably in their late teens. Slowly, but surely, he caught up to her as they both ran through the grassy field. He tackled her to the ground, and both went tumbling through the field of flowers.  
  
Laughter. Laughter that rang through the quiet meadow. The two gazed longingly at each other, Melody upwards and Wolf down at the girl he had pinned to the ground underneath his straddled legs. Green eyes meeting blue, their laughter slowly died away as Wolf leant downwards to meet the jubilant mouth of Melody.  
  
The boy disappeared into the tall grass, it seemed from afar, and before he had had time to sit up within the grass meadow, the tall grass had melted into the ground from all around the two, exposing them fully in this new red dimension.  
  
Rock suddenly had the sensation of floating in mid air, though he straddled a figure and his lips felt oddly wet. He could feel hair running through his left hand-hair that wasn't his own. He pulled away from the object his mouth was pressed against and opened his eyes that had been idly closed. He saw that the hair in his hand was brown and the eyes opening slowly in front of his were a greyish-green.  
  
"Mother?" he whispered dreamily.  
  
He felt a warm hand against his cheek slide away slowly off his chin, sending chills through his black-clothed body. Then, he heard a voice breathe against his lips. It was similar, though definitely wasn't that of Melody's.  
  
"I'm not your mother..."  
  
It was then that Rock recognized that the figure underneath him wasn't his mother, but Sanguine. She was dressed in black garments that were almost like his, though unlike him, she wore a dreamy expression.  
  
Rock pulled his head away from hers immediately in shock and fear, which also jolted him... awake...  
  
Rock awoke to feel his arm draped across something corpulent that moulded to the shape of his arm. His hand was loosely curled around something that was smooth and curved. He flexed his fingers, feeling the tips of them brush against the mattress. It felt as though the rest of his arm were elevated as he lay on his stomach.  
  
It was uncomfortable to keep his eyes closed with the bright light directed right at them, so they flickered open. Once his vision came into focus, it took a moment or two for what he was seeing to register in his mind. He drew in a sharp breath pulled his arm back to his body and sat bolt upright. He glanced with surprise and disgust down at the figure he had pulled away from before turning his gaze to the window.  
  
The sky was grey with flecks of pure-white snow drifting down from it. It seemed that it was going to be a dreary day. He looked back down at the sleeping figure beside him. Her head was turned towards the window and she lay flat on her back with one hand curled in a half-fist near her head. The other lay at her side, over the blankets. Her hair was spread out over the pillow underneath her head and her mouth slightly open, her silent breaths barely audible even throughout the quiet of the room.  
  
He got up, out of bed and sauntered over to the door. Placing his hand on the brass handle doubtfully, he was astonished to feel it open so easily. He closed it quietly after quickly poking his head out on seeing that the activity around the Ziggurat hadn't started yet-it was still too early in the morning. He went back to the bed and sat down, pulling the covers over his legs once more, though he couldn't imagine why he was doing so.  
  
Rock's glare fixed on the place where his arm had found itself over the course of the night. Then suddenly the memory of his dream jolted him back to reality. He tore his eyes away and this time they came to land on her throat where some of her hair had been draped across. Rock's eyes narrowed and he smiled furtively. "The perfect murder without the attraction phase..." he breathed.  
  
He leant down and used his left arm to prop himself so that he didn't fully lie down and took a hold of her hair. He slowly wrapped it around her neck. Torpidly, he pulled it tighter and tighter around her neck. "It doesn't matter what happened in my dream because that's all it was...a dream..." he muttered to himself.  
  
He paused a moment when he heard her breathing become more ragged. He saw her screw her eyes fully shut before they flew open. He made a small gasp but his expression quickly melted into a collected and nonchalant loving gaze. "Morning, Sanguine," he chided softly with a fake smile.  
  
She glowered at him in confusion for a moment before sitting up, pushing out of the way in doing so. She glanced at the window and then turned to face him. "'Morning... Thoughtcha said ye were goin' to keep to yerself," she questioned groggily.  
  
Rock rolled over onto his back and placed his hands behind his head as he continued to simper at her teasingly. "Oh, well...Too late now, isn't it?"  
  
Sanguine didn't answer, but kept her scowl.  
  
"The door's open. We're free."  
  
She didn't reply. She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed. "Tha's nice, Rocky..."  
  
Rock glowered at her before hopping out of bed, grabbing his belt and suspenders and hurrying after her towards the door. "There's no point. You might as well get dressed, since everyone else is still asleep."  
  
Ignoring him, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. She poked her head out as Rock had done and then turned back to him, still half asleep. "I'm already dressed... Thanks to someone who 'ad to spend the night with me 'cause he can't open a stupid door."  
  
He fastened the belt clasp and began with his suspenders, ignoring the derogatory comment. "Well, then, all you'll have to do is wait. Long day ahead-see you." And with that, he marched out the open door and down the hallway. As he headed for his room, he could still feel a glare at his back, and flinched as he heard a door slam behind him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Another long chapter...Sorry about that. So what do you think? Tell me, because I want to know everything you have to say! I've been thinking of adding something, but I'd like your consultation, first... LEMONS! Normally, I'd be against that sort of thing, but in this fic I'm going to be spontaneous and abnormal! So, review and tell me what you think of the lemon idea! Gotta love that citrus fruit...(I can just see the Rock fan mob coming after me, now, but who said it was going to be with Rock, hm? (Oh yeah, if I do lemons, I'll have to change the censor-but who pays any attention to those, anyway?)) 


	9. Beginning of Romance

Uh yeah...had to change the rating just in case... My mother thinks I'm too paranoid of censors and things that may be inappropriate towards certain age groups, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right? So, anyway, just thought you'd like to know of the limes in this chapter, so if you're a Rock fan that will become irrationally annoyed and filled with ire, don't take your wrath out on me, okay? I warned you, so you're reading at your own risk from this point onward.  
  
Oh yeah-one more thing-sorry about whatever happened to chapter one. Guess I made a mistake while I was uploading the chapter-unless it was a...*gasp* HACKER!!!!!!!  
  
8. Beginning of Romance  
  
"You okay, Rock? Patrick said something was going on in that room last night..." Devin cited, hurrying to keep up with the boy, who was running unusually fast.  
  
"Yes, I am fine, thank you, Devin," Rock countered brusquely, keeping up his pace.  
  
Devin slowed a little to keep gait with Sam, who was just behind Rock in the moving group. "Something's wrong-he's never that polite," Devin whispered to Sam.  
  
"Best leave him alone, it was most likely just a misunderstanding-you know what Patrick's like."  
  
"Yeah, but still, it's mighty suspicious, I mean-"  
  
"Devin! Is that you talking? Concentrate on getting to the scene and gossiping later!" reprimanded Sanguine.  
  
Blade hastened forward to the head of the group with his sister. "Where are we headed?" he managed to gasp between pants.  
  
"Parliament buildings reconstruction site. Another robot's gone haywire, as usual. What a way to jumpstart your morning, eh? Okay, men, right around the corner!"  
  
Sanguine led them around the block corner and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Spike, who had been right behind, to collide with her. Yet, she didn't move on the abrupt impact as she gasped and stared at the scene before her. The others had now stopped, too, and they stood gawking in a throng.  
  
"My Lord..." gasped Fornax.  
  
"That's one hell of a mess..." uttered Patrick, half out of breath.  
  
"We have to fix this?" whined Dactyl in disbelief.  
  
Sanguine continued to gape a moment longer before her skeptical expression morphed into one of determination. "Of all the robots...the welding one...Oh well, come on, men! We won't let a mere raging fire bog us down, will we?"  
  
"Yes, we will," Rock spoke up.  
  
Sanguine, who had began to run towards the fire whipped around. "You, Rock? You, Rock of all people say that? We can take down these robots without being burnt alive. We just have to be careful, that's all."  
  
"Yes, and we will be careful by waiting for the fire brigade robots to arrive and put the fire out before we move in."  
  
"Then what was all the training for? All the simulations that prepared us to deal with fires? All for nothing, is it?"  
  
"We can't afford to be reckless."  
  
"This isn't being reckless-"  
  
"Hey, if you two are done bickering, would you like to take a look at the fire, now?" Patrick interrupted.  
  
Sanguine turned back around. The flames were now spiralling higher into the sky. She glanced down to the foundation of the scaffolding, seeing one person being burnt alive as they had been pinned under a steel beam. Their screams were horrible, and now a life had been lost because of the Marduks' hesitation.  
  
"I don't care what you say, Rock! We're taking those robots down, no questions, and that's an order!" With that, Sanguine drew her gun and shot down the nearest robot that was spewing flames into the air from burners on its arms.  
  
The robot exploded from the gunpowder and fire combination, sending mechanical parts flying in every direction as Sanguine shielded her face. She turned around, however, when she heard a cry of pain from behind her.  
  
Blade held both hands to his right cheek as he grimaced. Sanguine and Rock turned, Sanguine not knowing what to do.  
  
Rock advanced on her. "See what your volatility has done? If you had listened to me, this wouldn't have happened!"  
  
"Oh, really? Did you not hear the screams of pain and cries for help from that person trapped under that beam? He was burnt alive because you didn't want to condemn those robots while the fire was still young! Now that we've had to wait, it's only got bigger, making the job harder!"  
  
"That person deserved to die."  
  
"Oh, he deserves to die now, does he? Then what is our very purpose as Marduks if these people rate the death they suffer? If that innocent life deserves such a violent death, then so do you, Rock!"  
  
"Will you two just shut up? Blade's fine, it's only a mere cut to the cheek! Sanguine's right-let's take care of those robots so that we can prevent more innocent lives lost!" Fornax ordered, taking charge and running into the fire as he drew his gun.  
  
The other Marduks followed him, some hesitant at first. Sanguine and Rock glared at each other a moment longer, the orange flames reflecting in their sunglasses. Finally, they both parted in different directions into the fire.  
  
"Spike! Help!"  
  
Spike whirled around to see Nusku surrounded by a wall of flames that were enclosing quickly around him. Spike looked helplessly around for something to aid the boy with. Nothing but flames and debris.  
  
"Spike!"  
  
Spike glanced around frantically. "I-I don't know...Don't shoot or the gunpowder will only catch on fire!"  
  
A yell. Nusku curled closer into himself, into the tightest ball he could manage. He clutched his burnt hand to his chest, feeling the heat against his black hair-the dark colour only augmenting the unpleasant warmth. "Nusku..." Spike's cries were becoming faint and distant amidst his tears of fear.  
  
The heat was right at his back, now-oh why hadn't he seen this coming? If only he hadn't been so wrapped up in taking down that robot... His boot...the boot was on fire-he could feel it along with the rest of his body. He heard a voice screaming in pain though he couldn't be sure it was his own...and then...water... Running water... He suddenly felt cool all over...wet...and he saw steam billow out from in front of him...  
  
Then he felt himself being lifted up from under his arms. "Nusku! Nusku! Are you alright?" A gasp. "Your hand, Nusku!"  
  
Nusku looked up to see Spike kneeling before him and an unfamiliar face hoisting him up. It was a man-he wore a black helmet with a dark eye visor and black turtleneck jumpsuit with a bulletproof vest over it with a strange symbol on the left breast. He had black gloves, combat boots and a strap draping across his chest-a part of a holster for the machine gun that was at his back-the bullets for which were hanging from a belt at his waist.  
  
"The boy's burnt his hand-looks like a second degree," the man ordered after quickly examining Nusku's hand.  
  
Nusku was pulled to his feet though he felt dizzy and nauseous. "There are symptoms of smoke inhalation," he heard the man yell.  
  
Nusku coughed and managed to lift his head. All around him was steam and water pouring from an unknown source behind him. There was debris from the scaffolding and destroyed robots that littered the floor. He turned and caught a glimpse of his left hand-the one that had been burnt. His eyes widened in shock and he felt sick staring at it. His glove had been near completely burned of except near his wrist and his skin was covered in dark red blisters. Where the glove had been burnt near his wrist, the materials had begun to amalgamate with his skin, creating a sudden change from the peach colour to mahogany brown.  
  
He was picked up by the man and carried through the remains of the remains. He could see that the water was coming from four water robots (A/N: you know the ones that were at the fire at Laughton's lab?). He was carried to an area in the street in front of the building where all of the other Marduks were standing.  
  
Spike hurried past him and to where Blade stood fiddling with the bandage that had been applied to his cut. Orion held his bandaged forearm where his sleeve-obviously partly torn-had been rolled up his right upper arm. Fornax was lying comatose on the ground and being propped up by one of the same uniformed people that carried Nusku while Sam's left pant leg had been scorched and his leg bandaged. Everyone was in a sober mood, even Sanguine and Rock had stopped fighting. All looked worse for the wear.  
  
Dactyl looked up from where he sat quietly on the ground beside Devin, and on seeing Nusku, leapt up. "Nusku!" he exclaimed before immediately jumped back from the man and Nusku in fear. "What happened to your hand?!"  
  
"It was burnt by the fire. Out of my way, please," the man replied, carrying Nusku to another uniformed member.  
  
Spike glanced around at the uniformed people and then turned to Gerra, who had been consumed by a reverie. "Who are these guys, Gerra?"  
  
Gerra shook his head to clear it and whirled to Spike. "What? Sorry- Didn't 'ear."  
  
"Who are these black-uniformed people?" Spike repeated, casting shifty glances at the nearest one passing by and leaning towards Gerra as he lowered his voice.  
  
"The Nin-agal. They were the ones we were told about at the ball, remember? The political party o' Suzerain Castor."  
  
"Yeah, but what are they doing here? I thought their job would have been...well, like something...political...or like what the Marduks do..."  
  
"Nope. They act as a police force to Metropolis, 'pparently. They're the ones that do the things like enforcing the rights o' the citizens and handlin' uprisals."  
  
"Has Rock already introduced us or anything?"  
  
Gerra shook his head just as Rock stood up from his seat on the floor beside Patrick and strode over to the man that had brought Nusku out of the fire. Gerra and Spike watched as the man turned to Rock and took off his helmet to reveal brown hair and grey eyes.  
  
"I don't know how I can thank you for this. I owe you one," Rock told the man.  
  
"It's a pleasure, Rock, don't mention it. The Nin-agal is always willing to help out the Marduks-anytime. We highly esteem Duke Red. But my question is; why are you thanking us? I heard that you were no longer the Marduk leader-not even a member of the Marduks."  
  
"You obviously heard wrong, then. It's true I'm no longer the commander, but that doesn't cancel me out as a member. Which reminds me-my Father asked for me to introduce the new recruits."  
  
"Ah yes, get the squadrons familiar with one another." The man glanced around at the incapacitated Marduks. "Uh, maybe I could meet with them personally another time..."  
  
Rock looked to Sanguine, who sat on the ground beside Devin. He motioned for her, and she sauntered over to him, exhausted. He rested his hands on her shoulders as he presented her to the man. Sanguine, too lazy to shrug his arms away merely took of her sunglasses and stared tiredly at the man.  
  
"This is Sanguine Algethi, the new leader as appointed by my Father."  
  
"I see. I thought females weren't admitted into the ranks of the Marduks?"  
  
"Sanguine was an exception." Rock took one hand away from Sanguine's shoulders to point to the others in turn. He pointed to Fornax, who was still out cold. "That blond man's Fornax Derringer, rank 04. That black- haired boy with the burnt hand is Nusku Bell, rank 11. The young redhead is Dactyl Mouse, rank 12. The other blond-the one with the slight beard and longer hair is Gerra Varlet, rank 08. The purple haired one with the glasses is Spike Briar, rank 10 and the brown haired one with the cheek incision is Blade Algethi, Sanguine's brother and rank 09. You know Devin Halberd, Patrick Sin, Sam Winchester and Orion Blasé."  
  
"What about the others-like Ray, Gill, Deimos, Lance-them?"  
  
At Rock's obvious silence, the man made a short, "Oh...the Ziggurat..." before extending his hand towards Sanguine. "My pleasure, Sanguine. Name's Mintaka, leader of the Nin-agal and chief bodyguard of Suzerain Castor. Helmets off!" he ordered the Nins, and the four of them swiftly obeyed the order. "We're small, now, but we hope to recruit new members just as the Marduks did. The revolution levelled us-who would have thought that ZONE-1 citizens could be so destructive?"  
  
"They've been oppressed for so long it's only natural that they'd start a rebellion fuelled by their anger," Rock answered from behind Sanguine with blatancy.  
  
"I suppose you're right...but we were also taken out by the Ziggurat in trying to get ignorant residents to safety. The five of us are the only ones left." Mintaka said as he motioned to the one nursing Fornax-a female with her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail low on her head and blue eyes. "That's Charity-the 'nurse', if you will." He then motioned to a man with wavy greyish blue hair and grey eyes. "Nautilus, our firearms and explosives expert." A younger male, seemingly eighteen or so with black hair that had red streaks in it, glasses and green eyes stood talking to Nautilus. He bore a similar resemblance to Spike. "And then Augur-you'd believe he's psychic sometimes the way he can piece a crime scene together." The fourth member stood surveying the remains of the fire and tending to the water-bots. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. "That's Pan, the brawn of our operations. He's like a boulder you wouldn't want to try to stop once he's got going - quite useful with recalcitrant crowds.  
  
"So, the Nin-agal is a riot squad as well as a forensics team. We're the elite-there hasn't been a case yet that we haven't solved. We're able to carry out both occupations since the city of Metropolis is so well- contained. There's hardly any crime rate. We're currently looking into the assassinations of Boon and Lamp, but no clues have turned up just yet."  
  
Sanguine cast a nervous glance at Rock, who remained poker-faced. "Keep it up. The assassin, or assassins, have to be out there somewhere. Anyway, we'd better be going. Until we meet again, Mintaka," Rock saluted, ushering Sanguine away. "Gerra-take Fornax for us, would you?" he called to the man, who nodded gruffly and sauntered over to where Charity and Fornax were. He made a nod towards the surprised Charity, before lifting Fornax's limp body off the ground and hurrying after the rest of the Marduks-who Rock was leading back to the Ziggurat.  
  
Charity got up from her kneeling position and stepped over to Mintaka to join in surveying the departing group as she dusted her peeled off her gloves. "The Marduks seem to be shifty characters, nowadays, eh?"  
  
"That's right," replied Mintaka. "Rock and Sanguine were nervous when I brought up the topic of Boon and Lamp."  
  
"That only proves they're somewhat guilty," urged someone from behind them. They turned to see Augur approaching them, an accusing scowl on his face. "Isn't it obvious? I've never been able to trust that Rock, myself, anyway. I mean-he trusts Duke Red-a big mistake right from the get-go."  
  
"I agree with you, Augur," Mintaka answered, turning back to the retreating Party. "But we mustn't make mere assumptions-even though it was Rock that killed Dr Laughton, burnt down Laughton's lab, and destroyed Metropolis with the destruction of the Ziggurat-which he instigated."  
  
****  
  
Duke Red took one look at his worn-out Marduks and felt at a loss for words. "Dear God...What in the name of mortality happened to you all?"  
  
Rock answered succinctly. "Robots, Father. I've told you what a nuisance they are. Just worthless pieces of junk."  
  
Duke Red ignored the comment and turned away from them and to the window of his office, disgusted. "All I can say is that Devin, Fornax, Rock and Sanguine had better be together by tomorrow-what with the political hearing and all."  
  
"There's a political hearing tomorrow? Why weren't we told beforehand?" questioned Rock.  
  
"I told you beforehand-at dinner last night," Duke Red replied without turning around. "Oh-that's right-you weren't there. Well, you know now. You are dismissed."  
  
"But Father-"  
  
"You are dismissed," Duke Red repeated, firmer this time. "Sanguine, I suggest you do some studying about the subject. You may want to, also, Fornax."  
  
Both nodded, Fornax having woken up by now before following the others out the door.  
  
***  
  
Sanguine tapped her pencil against the library desk as she propped her head up lazily and stared at the book on the table in front of her. She sighed and glanced over at Fornax, who sat a few tables away, reading intently. She turned to the window on the left side of her head and squinted through the bright sunlight of sunset for a moment and then turned back to the book.  
  
"Why should I have to study... Back home I always passed with flying colours without studying...why should this be any different?" She cast another look around the Ziggurat's library. It was littered with shelves and the table area which she sat in. The only windows were on the wall to her left-which the wall was actually made of. The windows stretched from the high ceiling to the floor and the light that shone through them was interluded by bookshelves.  
  
She went back to tapping her pencil against the table, this time shielding the side of her face from the blinding light. Yet it wasn't long before she was interrupted again, not this time by boredom, but by something that suddenly blocked out the light against the side of her head. She turned to the shadow, expecting to see Fornax to say he was leaving or something, but it wasn't him. It was someone else - Rock in his Marduk uniform and without his sunglasses on. He stood there silently, not saying anything nor moving.  
  
She clicked her tongue and turned back to the book. "Can't you see I'm busy? Go away."  
  
"Come," he answered simply before moving out of the light and walking around the table towards the exit of the library.  
  
"I'm not talking to you. After all, I might squash a bug with my reckless feet," she snapped, making the falsetto of a male's voice with her last few words.  
  
"Fine then." Rock started to leave after a quick shrug of the shoulders.  
  
Sanguine pretended to ignore him for a couple of moments and then shifted her glance to make sure he wasn't looking. On seeing that he couldn't care less whether or not she came, she jumped up and grabbed her bolero and hat from off of the chair and hurried after him. "Wait, Rock-I'm coming!"  
  
Rock stopped and looked over his shoulder just as she caught up with him. "Changed your mind then, have you? A wise decision."  
  
Sanguine paused halfway through putting on the bolero. "What do you mean 'a wise decision'?"  
  
Rock continued walking again. "You'll see."  
  
The two took a sole elevator up some considerable levels, which made Sanguine feel uncomfortable. She could sense that Rock was angry with her, and being alone with him wasn't the smartest of ideas if his anger had reached a certain level. However, it would have been the perfect time to get at him-he had his back to her since he stood right in front of the door, staring at it. She didn't want to use mere hands-she didn't have the strength to take someone of his stature down. She had her gun-but she couldn't.  
  
Finally the doors parted, and Rock stepped out. The hallway was narrow and only half-lit. Again, there was no one around-why was it that he liked deserted areas? He led her down the corridor a little to the right before coming to a steel door. He opened it and immediately Sanguine was thankful she had brought her jacket. She followed him out the door and across the catwalk, glancing in slight fear through the railings at the city almost a kilometre below as she shivered from the cold brought by the winds of the altitude.  
  
They were leaving the main building of the Ziggurat and heading to the west tower across the catwalk-another area that no one visited. The surmounting evidence kept telling her to turn back-he was oblivious to her presence-she could turn and run, but fear kept forcing her forward. They went through another steel door and into the west tower. Rock ascended two flights of staircases before they came to the inside of a small cabin. He paused to put on his sunglasses before opening the door and in an instant Sanguine knew why.  
  
If the light had been bright in the library-it was blinding up here. There was an excellent view of the whole west side of the city. The sunset's light reflected off of the water in the harbour and warmed her face, despite the winds. She smiled absent-mindedly as she stared at the city bathed in golden light. She felt her eyes becoming watery though she didn't know why. Could it possibly that it was so beautiful?  
  
She heard footsteps approach from behind her and then Rock appeared to her right. They were silent for a moment, each staring at the area in the horizon. Finally Rock broke the impending silence. "Beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
Sanguine hesitated with her answer. "It's...It's more than beautiful..." Tears were welling up and threatened to flow.  
  
"You mean like you?"  
  
Sanguine blinked back the tears and turned immediately to Rock. "I don't get it... This morning you were yelling at me and saying how I hurt people with my recklessness while now you're saying I'm more than...beautiful?"  
  
Rock smiled and looked at her through his sunglasses. "Yes, that's right. I have an image for the Marduks, you know."  
  
Sanguine started to blush and therefore turned away, rocking on her feet as she clutched her jacket even tighter to her. Rock moved behind her and slipped his hands around her waist, making her remove hers from her chest. "Cold, are you?"  
  
"N-Not anymore..." she stammered, not knowing where to place her arms.  
  
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry..." he said quietly, resting his head on her right shoulder and pulling her to him. "We should really be working together. You were right about risking our lives to save others-that's our job as Marduks."  
  
She glanced back to the sunset with nervousness, this time, feeling him running his hands over her stomach-massaging it. After a few more moments of heavy breathing and blushing, he began to push her forward and closer to the edge of the tower. Right at the edge she could feel the updraft from the building as she scrutinized downward in apprehension. Suddenly, she felt the hands retreat from her waist and impact against her back, pushing her forward and off the edge. A thousand things ran through her mind but the prominent one was that this was it.  
  
Falling forward and feeling the zephyr even more, she felt her left arm being grabbed and she was jerked back upward. Rock held her in a tango position, leaning over so far that Sanguine's loose hair touched the ground. "Watch yourself."  
  
Sanguine stared at the sunglasses in surprise at what had just happened, at a loss for words. "I-I...Y-You!"  
  
He lay her down gently on the ground before kneeling down on one knee and straddling her with one leg. He watched her shocked face as he reached into his shirt and pulled out the pendant. He took it off and held it dangling in her face. "See this?"  
  
She nodded slowly, her eyes still wide with fear.  
  
"It was given to me by my Mother. My real mother-not Duchess Red. It was an heirloom of the family, and my mother told me to give it to someone I trusted-someone who would treasure it the way the Homes did."  
  
"The Homes? Then your real last name is Home? Rock Home? You lied to me!"  
  
"You got it." He leant down to hover over her face. "And so what? You've lied to me. If I give this to you, you'll treasure it, right?"  
  
Sanguine surveyed the pendant of green jewel and feathers, then turned to Rock, who was in her face. "Yes, I will..."  
  
Rock took his leg away and pulled her up. He placed the pendant around her neck. "There. Consider it yours."  
  
Sanguine looked down at it, fingering it delicately as Rock smiled at her from behind his glasses. "Thank you...A rather fine piece of jewellery...Handsome...Just like the one I received it from," she said, looking up at him with a smile.  
  
He reached out and pulled her up, returning to the stomach massaging, this time Sanguine placing her arms over Rock's and leaning on his head as she gazed at the sunset. Rock buried his head in her hair, taking in its sweet smell. Her stomach was even, and succumbed to wherever his hands ventured.  
  
Sanguine then lifted her head away from his. "How did you know to bring me up here?"  
  
"I loved it, and I thought you would, too. I take it you don't come up here often? I saw the tears in your eyes."  
  
Sanguine hesitated. So he had seen. He wasn't supposed to. He wasn't supposed to see her cry. Thinking of what to say made her oblivious to the hand creeping up her stomach-further to above the stomach.  
  
Rock lifted his head and turned his head towards hers. His mouth hovered near her neck before it caught an extra fold of skin. He smiled on hearing the whimper of uncertainty. He felt her hand touch the top of his head, only making him sink his teeth in harder and suck on the fold of skin. He cupped his hands around them, feeling their weight and then let go of her neck, headed for her cheek, though he hesitated at the last moment.  
  
She pulled his hands down and extended her arms outward, away from their bodies. "There...Standing like this you can feel the wind and it's like you're flying..." She breathed in deeply.  
  
Rock raised his head too look at the sunset and closed his eyes, feeling the wind against his face. It truly did feel like flying... "Hey!"  
  
Sanguine had let go of his wrist for a brief moment to take his sunglasses off before she returned to holding his wrist out. "A man who hides his eyes is afraid to show the world who he really is." She threw her head back and rested it on his left shoulder. "Now I'm falling."  
  
He gazed at her closed eyes for a moment before returning to the fantasies. "I'm still flying...like a persistent bird soaring to meet my parents..."  
  
He then felt himself being pushed downward. He sat down behind her at first, his legs around her. She pulled their arms into her stomach and curled into them. "Please don't talk about your parents."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It hurts me to talk about them as much as it hurts you. I've cried enough for one day. And you sound like my brother-and he was the one that tried to kill them. He's the one you really remind me of-not my father-and I don't want to confuse you with my brother."  
  
Rock gasped and leant forward into her ear and withdrew his legs from around her instead to put them on her right so that he sat beside her. "What do you mean he tried to kill them?"  
  
Sanguine curled into a tighter ball. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."  
  
Rock pulled away, though she wouldn't let go of his arms. "Okay, then...I thought girls were supposed to cry."  
  
She then let go of his arms and sat up to bury herself in his chest underneath his outstretched arm. "Maybe tomorrow."  
  
She lay his sunglasses in his lap. He looked down at them, but then thought better of it and left them off. He tightened the hand she held in hers so that he held her closer of his own free will. He smiled at the one buried in his arms and looked back up at the sunset.  
  
He never thought he'd have someone nestled in his grip since the day his parents died. That day it had all been taken away-he felt there would be no happiness even though the Reds had showed affection at first. It just hadn't been the same. He couldn't kill someone that had brought everything back to him.  
  
This attitude would have to go.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I'm too sensitive...I was crying when I wrote that last paragraph. Rock's story is so sad when you really think about it...and listening to sad songs while typing doesn't help... -_-' 


	10. Hearing Is Believing

After calculating all of the plans I have for this story (so far), I have drawn the conclusion that it should take me seventeen chapters to fully write this story. Give or take a few.  
  
And to Anthy's Worst Fear: I went over your most recent review again, and I've been puzzling over one aspect for quite a while. I checked in the 1531- page dictionary, looked in my mother's medical handbook (which is 788 pages, by the way), I inquired my math teacher (who really should be a disease analyst, but...) and then I asked my grandfather-an excellent (but retired) doctor, and I failed to find the item regarding Duke Red's ailment. So, if you would be so kind as to tell me, WHAT THE HECK IS ASPERGER'S SYNDROME?! (It's not even on my spell checker...)  
  
One more thing to the same reviewer: About your "people" that commented on the lemons...  
  
Person #1: A Duke Red lemon? Are you mad, woman? Sorry, but I've to agree with Anthy on that one.  
  
Person #2: Don't worry, you'll get your gory, violent scenes, soon enough. Next chapter, I think. But if you can't wait that long, go read The Hilanov Prophecy! There's lots of bloody stuff in there. Guns, daggers, and whatnot. I'm getting into the final battle just about now, it's going to be a bloodbath to remember!  
  
Person #3: That's nice.  
  
10. A Hearing Is Believing  
  
"There-Are we all ready to go?" interrogated Duke Red, fiddling with his bow tie. He surveyed the three standing before him, who were all in military uniforms designed specially for the Marduks. Sanguine's had a maroon shawl, navy blue shirt and black skirt underneath which were brown nylons and then she had black high-heels on her feet. The other two, Devin and Fornax, had identical attire of navy blue shirt with golden epaulettes and black pants with red strips down the side and black dress shoes. Each outfit had a navy blue kepi with the red Marduk jewel in the middle.  
  
Duke Red took a closer look at Sanguine and noticed something different. "Sanguine, what is that red mark on the side of your neck?"  
  
Sanguine tugged the right side of her starched turtleneck up further. The hickey-she thought she had made sure to conceal that. "Nothing, sir, just a rash." Hah, what a lie...  
  
"Aren't you missing someone?" questioned Dactyl's young-boyish voice from behind Duke Red.  
  
"Yeah-I thought you said that five of you were attending the hearing," concurred Spike.  
  
Duke Red glanced around at the Marduks, who all had their gaze fixed on him. "I think you're right, Dactyl. Where's Rock?"  
  
"Here, Father," came the reply as Rock hurried down the staircase and towards the rest of the group.  
  
"Rock! You're late! What have you been doing?" ordered Duke red heatedly.  
  
"I am truly sorry, Father."  
  
Duke Red glared at him a moment longer before whipping away and heading for the door. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. Sam!"  
  
The bearded man slapped his arms at his side to stand erectly at attention, even though Duke Red was facing away and retreating from him. "Yes, sir!"  
  
"As rank 05, you know the procedure. You're in charge."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Rock hastened to Sanguine's side, who kept on walking with a solemn scowl on her face. Her hair was tied back in a vertical curl bun, and she seemed not to notice him.  
  
"Lipstick?" Rock whispered, a smile creeping across his face.  
  
"Duke Red's orders. It supposed to make me look important and formal."  
  
"You don't look important no matter what you do to your image," Rock jested, turning his head away and putting on his kepi.  
  
***  
  
"Sanguine, you are to sit up at the front with me, while the rest of you sit at the back behind the jury. You are to stand when told and obey orders as given. Today we shall be testifying against the Nin-agal, for, as you've probably heard, accusation of the homicides of President Boon and Head of the Intelligence Department, Lamp."  
  
"Do they have evidence to convict us, sir?" queried Fornax.  
  
"Only eyewitness accounts and nothing more, from my understanding."  
  
"What will happen if the jury finds you guilty of the crime, Father?" Rock asked.  
  
Duke Red hesitated with his answer, anger of blatancy of the statement surmounting. "I'll go to jail, then, won't I?"  
  
Devin glanced at the expression of Rock's face and continued walking brusquely down the long corridor. "Uh, sir, I think Rock meant more along the lines of what would happen to the Marduks and the Ziggurat, seeing as there would be no one to watch over them."  
  
"Well, I'll have to find someone able to watch over them."  
  
"All rise."  
  
Everybody in the large court room swiftly obeyed the order, keeping their heads down as the judge swept past them and to the head of the room where the wooden desk stood. He assembled his long black robes before sitting down in the chair underneath the Republican flag attached to the wall and taking the gavel in hand. He rapped it against the elevated wooden circle as he vociferated, "You may sit."  
  
He paused to watch everyone do so before beginning to explain. "We are gathered here today to discuss the assassinations of Metropolitan President Judas Boon and his associate, Acetylene Lamp, Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Intelligence Department."  
  
"If only he had been that smart..." Devin mumbled to himself as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"At this hearing, our prosecutor is Suzerain Castor, head of the Nin- agal political party and a candidate in our upcoming presidential election. The defendant is Duke Red, founder of the Marduk political party and also a presidential candidate. We should also be honoured to be in the presence of the three other candidates, currently the Secretary of State, Minister Weasel Skunk, currently the Metropolitan Mayor, Lucifer Ryon, and currently the Metropolitan Vice President, Rose Draconian," he said, motioning to the three sitting behind the prosecutors in the jury.  
  
Skunk wore his regular military uniform that he always wore while Ryon wore his black suit. Draconian wore a blue suit of skirt and jacket underneath which a red sweater was visible. She had the same black high- heels she had worn to the ball while Suzerain Castor wore a black suit similar to Duke Red's.  
  
"And now I would like to begin with the hearing. Prosecutors, if you would like to present your case and evidence?"  
  
"Yes, your honour," Suzerain Castor replied, leaning over to the suited Mintaka on his left. "You're on. Don't blow it," he muttered in the man's ear.  
  
Mintaka nodded before standing up and gathering some papers from the desk in front of him and stepping to the front of the courtroom. "My fellow citizens of the city of Metropolis, I would ask to have your attention for the shocking evidence collected by the Nin-agal team soon after the homicides of President Boon and Chief Officer Lamp..."  
  
Mintaka finished the plaintiff about twenty minutes later, by which time Sanguine was beginning to nod off. She gazed up apathetically at the judge as he ordered for Duke Red's defence. She looked to her left to see Duke Red stand up and begin with, "Your Honour,". She turned her head to the window on her right and watched the snow float down from the pewter grey sky.  
  
Seeing all the snow made her feel slightly cold, but she didn't feel like putting the cape back on that she had taken off before she had sat down. She glanced to her black gloves on the table in front of her, ignoring Duke Red droned strain of words.  
  
Her mind drifted to yesterday evening, thoughts of Rock and what he had said filling her head. She ran her fingers over the mark on her neck slowly as she stared at her chest where the Home pendant was buried under her shirt. She wanted to take it out-to gaze longingly at the picture of the once existent family and wonder if they ever felt the way her family once had.  
  
Brother. That's who Rock looked like-who he behaved like-who he thought like-who he could have been the exact clone of, had it not been for the green eyes. She looked like Rock's mother-behaved like her-thought like her, or so Rock had said. The only difference seemed to be that Melody's hair was a darker brown-almost black. Melody Home had died a violent death- would she meet the same fate? What about Rock and Blade? Were they somehow linked, too? What if Rock had actually felt a hatred for his parents-the way Blade had?  
  
The way Blade had felt hatred for his and Sanguine's parents... How it had led him to a homicidal attempt... He had missed out on his younger sister. Would he try again the same way he had the last time? By-  
  
Sanguine was awoken from her disquieting reveries by a hefty nudge from Duke Red. "What is your story on the incident," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth from his standing position.  
  
Sanguine hastened to stand up. "My story on the incident, Your Honour, is that I had no part in the undertaking of the operation. I was neither the leader, nor a member of the Marduk Party at the time, and therefore I would not have been to command nor influence the members into such a predicament. I can, however call a upon two present members from the time to present their defence."  
  
"That would be suitable," the judge answered.  
  
Sanguine turned around to make eye contact with Rock and Devin, who, with a nod of the head, she motioned to the front. The two stood up from their chairs at the back, Fornax watching them solemnly as they strode down the middle aisle and to the front where Mintaka had stood before.  
  
"I can assure all in this courtroom that I, Rock Red, played no part whatsoever in the assassinations of President Boon and Officer Lamp."  
  
'He used his fake name...' Sanguine thought to herself as she glared at him.  
  
"It is true, and I admit that I was the Marduk commander at the time, but I gave no such order for their violent passages. We among the Marduks believe that a select few of them were chosen by an outsider to assist in the duty. We do not know of the person, as the ones that were chosen have taken the secret to their graves. All we have to say is that not all of us are guilty." Rock finished.  
  
Devin took over. "I, neither, took part in the incident." Devin went out on a precarious limb with his next comment. "Though what I did hear from one of my fellow Marduks was that Minister Skunk led them on the excursion."  
  
A gasp ran through the courtroom and heads whipped towards the man who had been lounging back lazily in his chair up until now. Skunk looked to Draconian, who was sitting beside him and was now shooting him a murderous scowl. Skunk leapt out of his chair and adjusted the medallions on his shirt.  
  
"I can assure you that I did no such thing. Besides, how can you counter the fact that Mintaka saw the Marduks enter the building with his own two eyes? He mentioned nothing of me."  
  
"Witnesses can lie, Minister," Duke Red opposed, now eyeing the man with a contempt Sanguine had never seen before.  
  
"I wouldn't be mouthing just at the moment, Red, as the Marduks are of your responsibility-" retorted Skunk, who was interrupted by the sound of gavel against desk.  
  
"That is quite enough, Minister," the judge ordered. "You may sit down." Skunk obeyed the command as the judge looked to the rest of the courtroom. "Well, it is obvious that we can't punish someone that isn't alive. However, we do have another culprit in our case, now, if we are to believe the words of Mr Halberd. Mintaka, if you may recant the evidence that factors in Mr Weasel."  
  
Mintaka nodded to Augur, who stood up. "Your Honour, the Nin-agal does not have an exact account of Minister Skunk's presence. However, evidence collected does suggest foreign hairs belonging to none of the Marduks, neither present nor former, dead or alive. Therefore, we could assume that they were indeed led by someone other than Rock or Duke Red. Minister Skunk's hairs were definitely detected, but as Minister Skunk had been in Boon's office many times before, it would be unfair to deduce that he was the actual one that had led them."  
  
"Thank you, Augur. If there are no more contradictory or additional statements, I would ask the jury to draw their conclusions."  
  
There was silence among the people of the courtroom, both Duke Red and Minister Skunk shifting uneasily in it. The judge spoke again. "Right, then. Jury, make your assessment based on the information you have received."  
  
***  
  
"Lucky for you you burnt your left hand and not your right," Patrick said, trying to be optimistic.  
  
"Of course, that wouldn't do him any good if he was left-handed, Patrick," retaliated Orion.  
  
"Oh, right. You're not left handed, are you, Nusku?"  
  
Nusku shook his head and pulled his hand away from Patrick's grip. "No, I'm not."  
  
Patrick glanced back to Orion and smirked at him. "See? I told you. Anyway, as I was going to say, if he had burnt his dominant hand, he wouldn't be able to fire a gun for some while. He'd be useless to the Marduks, then. Mind you, you're pretty useless yourself, Orion, if you can't stand the pain enough the fire with that cut in your arm."  
  
Orion glowered at him, annoyed by his egotistical behaviour. "I'll be fine, thank you, Patrick."  
  
Patrick leant back in his chair and glanced at Sam, who was playing cards with Gerra, Spike, and Blade at the end of the table. "Hey, at least you can walk, unlike Sammy over there."  
  
"I can walk," Sam argued irritably.  
  
"Yeah, like an old man," Patrick mused with a chuckle.  
  
Dactyl got up from his seat beside Nusku at the table and began to hobble comically across the floor, causing Nusku and Orion to burst out in laughter.  
  
"Hah, even Dactyl's on my side, man. I've taught him well," Patrick jested, ruffling Dactyl's hair as he came back to the table.  
  
"More like corrupted 'im," quipped Gerra as he laid a card in the middle deck.  
  
"So what about your cheek wound, Blade?" asked Spike. "Do the stitches hurt? What did the doctors say?"  
  
Blade raised hi gaze from his cards to the brown eyes of the boy. "No, surprisingly, they don't hurt one bit. They administered an anaesthetic, so I could feel a thing as they did it. The doctor says that he'll undo the stitches in around a week or two. I'll have a scar, but the wound will be healed. It's nothing to worry about. Nothing like the agony my parents felt several years ago."  
  
"What d'ye mean by that, Blade?" Gerra inquired, suddenly interested.  
  
Blade looked away, smile on his face. "I shouldn't really be telling you. If Sanguine found out you found out, she'd have my head."  
  
"Too late-you've let it spill and now you have to tell us, Blade!" exclaimed Dactyl, hurrying to the teen's side.  
  
"Leave the boy alone, Dactyl," Sam scolded calmly. "If he doesn't want us to know, we shouldn't bother him about it."  
  
"Oh, no, I've no qualms about telling you. In fact, if you really want to know, you've a right to know."  
  
The heads of the seven Marduks turned to Blade, who was still smirking to himself. What he didn't know was that another pair of ears had stopped to listen intently from outside the Marduk lounging room. Brown eyes peered through the crack in the door to see Blade begin his explanation of the incident several years ago.  
  
"It all started like this... I was angry at them because I had received one bad grade on my school report card and they kept rubbing my nose in the dirt for it..."  
  
***  
  
"The jury votes guilty. The Marduks involved in the incident are guilty of the aforementioned crime. Minister Skunk, however, is excused as innocent. Charges shall be pressed against the Marduk participants that are still alive, once discovered. Case closed and court dismissed."  
  
"The Marduks are guilty?" Sanguine voiced absent-mindedly over the shuffle of people anxious to get out of the room.  
  
"Yes, it appears that way," Duke Red answered, apparently as stunned as her.  
  
"Well, Mr Red..."  
  
Duke Red turned to the middle aisle to see Skunk and Draconian standing there. Skunk had a smug grin on as did Draconian. "What do you want? I know it was you that led my Marduks to kill Boon. You were always jealous of him, and Heaven knows you didn't like the omotenium generator plan."  
  
"Ah, ah, ah..." chided Skunk, waving a finger as if scolding a young child. "They have no proof that it was I that led them, and it was you that Boon only pretended to hold in his good graces."  
  
"That's not true-he does honour me."  
  
"In front of your face, but behind your back, it's a whole different story. Trust me-I knew him better than you did."  
  
Draconian cut in. "Weasel's right, Duke. Boon wanted to get rid of you-to deport you and accuse you of an untrue case of treason. Lamp was the one that convinced him to do it. Had Weasel not borrowed the Marduks to get rid of Boon and his confidant, you wouldn't be in the position you would be today. Heck, you wouldn't even be in Metropolis."  
  
"That's it! A confession!" exclaimed Sanguine, leaping forward and pointing an accusing finger at Skunk.  
  
Duke Red swept his hand out to push her back defensively behind him. "Leave this to me, Sanguine."  
  
Draconian's smile widened. "Look, Weasel-Duke can't even control his surrogate daughter. No wonder his original died on him. Wonder if the same'll happen to his son."  
  
"We can only hope," Skunk chuckled, turning and running into a scowling Rock. Skunk drew back slightly in surprise from the incomparable fury on the boy's face before the man's grin returned. "If we're lucky, it'll be soon." With that, he sauntered off with the woman.  
  
Rock clenched his fists and teeth as he watched them leave through the door. He forgot his hatred and turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Hey, don't mind them," consoled Devin. "You've made it through things tougher than this, kid. You can do this."  
  
"That's right," agreed Fornax. "Don't give in to them. You have to be strong and ruthless like you always are-that's politics."  
  
Rock's scowl returned at their meagre efforts of consolement. He shrugged Devin's hand away. "I don't need your help."  
  
Rock turned away from the rest of them and there was silence among the five for a while before Duke Red pushed past Devin, Fornax, and Rock standing in the middle of the aisle. Sanguine slipped her cape back on hastily before hurrying after him, the other three men following suite.  
  
***  
  
Once the five had reached the Ziggurat and got inside, Duke Red went straight to the room, practically stomping the whole way. Enmy, who had been quite skittish that afternoon jumped and shuddered when she heard the door slam from upstairs as she was helping Sanguine take off her cape in the main hall.  
  
The other Marduks filed into the main hall through a side entrance, all looking very sullen except for Blade. Nusku, Dactyl, and Spike had their eyes wide open, kept surveying around them and sniffing the air cautiously.  
  
Devin and Fornax glanced oddly at each other on seeing this strange behaviour. Devin stepped forward and narrowed his eyes as he glowered at the unusually quiet Patrick. "Hey, what's with everybody? Did something happen while we were gone?"  
  
"No, nothing happened. Just tell us what happened at the trial. I don't think Mr Red is willing to do so..." Enmy said quietly.  
  
Fornax looked to the other three and sighed before turning to Enmy. "The Marduks were found guilty by the jury. The ones that are still alive and are responsible for the assassinations will be charged once it is proven who they are."  
  
If it was possible, the looks on Patrick and Orion's faces sank even more.  
  
"As long as you obey further instructions and remain loyal to us, we won't report you," Rock assured the two. He then noticed the look in Sam's eye and became suspicious. "There's something wrong. I can tell, so you might as well spill it, Enmy."  
  
Enmy drew back in surprise of accusation which was clearly fake. "What? I don't know anything..."  
  
Rock advanced on her. "I know something happened, and if someone doesn't tell me-"  
  
"Calm down, Rock. There may have been nothing, they're just wary of Duke Red's mood," soothed Sanguine.  
  
"I've known the Marduks longer than you have. Don't tell me how to control them," Rock snapped as he whipped to interrogate the others again.  
  
Sanguine tuned out after that moment, feeling dejection and anger. Without another word, she padded past Rock, Enmy, and the Marduks and up the stairs to her room.  
  
***  
  
Later that night, Rock wandered towards his room and past the hall bathroom. He heard running water, as if from a shower. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and pressed his ear against the door of the bathroom. The shower was on. He glanced shiftily up and down the hall before hurrying to Sanguine's room at the end of it.  
  
He knocked on the closed door and waited a couple of moments. There was no answer. He smiled and rushed back down the corridor and down the stairs into the kitchen.  
  
When he returned to the upstairs corridor, he had a chef's knife in his hand. He placed his hand on the knob of the bathroom door. "This is just perfect. I've done the first part of the job, Father, and now I shall carry out the second."  
  
He turned his wrist to open the door when he heard a voice from behind him.  
  
"What are you doing with that knife, Rock?"  
  
Rock whirled around, hid the knife behind his back and took his hand away from the door to see Blade with a sceptical look on his face.  
  
"I was just...euh..."  
  
"Sanguine's in there, isn't she?"  
  
"...Yeah..."  
  
Blade made to turn away and continue down the hall. "Thought so." He paused and turned back to Rock. "You really want to know why everyone was so sober this afternoon, don't you?"  
  
"It would be nice to know."  
  
"Well, I was talking about Sanguine's and my family. About how I made that murder attempt when I was young. I presume she told you about it already, though?"  
  
Rock shook his head.  
  
"It happened when I was ten, and she was eight. It all started with the report cards we had received that week. As always, Sanguine had got straight A's, but I was a different story. I had failed both math and history. As a result, I hid the card from our parents and lied to them that my teacher had misplaced them and couldn't give them to us until Monday.  
  
"On Sunday, the day before we were to go back to school, I had so much anger and fear welled up in me. I went downstairs into the basement and found the gas pipes. I wrenched them away from the wall and they broke in half, allowing the toxic gases to fill the house. I made to escape from the house by saying I was going out to play so that only the rest of my family would die of the fumes. Once outside, however, my conscience forced me to at least bring Sanguine with me. So, I went back inside and brought her outside with me.  
  
"Around half an hour later, I heard sirens at the end of our street and the authorities, fire trucks, and ambulances rushed up the road to our house. They all went inside and discovered there was as leak and also brought my mother out on a stretcher. My father came to us and hugged us, saying how lucky we were to have been outside at the time of the gas leak. He said that our mother was okay, and that she had just inhaled some of the fumes.  
  
"My murder attempt hadn't worked, but my mother being in a coma for a couple of weeks brought me to my senses. I never tried to kill them again, nor anyone in the family, and for some time my sister believed that I had saved her from death."  
  
Rock stood looking at him silently for a moment. "Wow...That's...sad..."  
  
"That's life," Blade added before walking away.  
  
Rock waited until he was out of sight and earshot before turning back to the door to open it. He was about to turn it when he was interrupted again, but this time by something coming from inside the door. He pressed his ear to the door and heard a voice singing. A familiar tune, yes, but one he hadn't heard in years. He knew the words, and hummed softly with the female voice, sounding just the same as it had those many years ago.  
  
"If this is goodbye, I'm unaware  
As sadness hangs amid the air,  
But since only dawn saw him depart,  
So in confusion is my heart.  
  
"If I could hear your voice once more,  
Maybe my wounds would no longer be sore,  
I'd fly the lands, my tears would flow,  
For without you, I'm all alone.  
  
"On the wind and cross the sea,  
You shall come back home to me  
Then I will be free to walk  
Once again among precious rocks..."  
  
(A/N: If the format isn't correct, forgive me. It's supposed to look like a poem, but FFN doesn't do things like that unless you do the poetry format...)  
  
The last few words of the song were changed, but he definitely knew it. It was the song that his mother used to sing to him when he was young. The last words of the song were, "Once again with my precious Rock."  
  
Rock pulled away from the door and looked at the knife in his hand. He was once again reminded of the fact that he couldn't kill his own blood, as Blade had tried to. Sanguine wasn't his own blood, but she might as well have been with such a spitting image of his mother. He looked up as he heard the door open. He hadn't realised that the shower had stopped.  
  
He blushed and pulled away on seeing Sanguine standing there in a white bathrobe. She scowled at him. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Rock hid the knife behind his back as he had done the other Algethi. "I was passing by."  
  
"With a chef's knife?"  
  
"Yeah, I was going to my room to cut an annoying tag off one of my shirts..." he lied.  
  
"With a chef's knife?" she repeated.  
  
"Yeah...It gives the cleanest cut in my opinion... I stopped outside the bathroom because I heard you singing, and-"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry... I sound terrible, don't I? My teacher and everyone else I know says I have a beautiful voice, but not in my opinion when I'm trying not to be heard by anyone..."  
  
"No, I have to agree with them. You sound very nice, but I heard you singing a familiar song, and I was wondering how you knew it."  
  
Sanguine looked up absently, as if searching through her memory. "Hm...Good question. I definitely learned it a long time ago. If I'm not mistaken, my brother learned it and then taught it to me..."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Sanguine began to glower again. "Could you move, now, please? I'm getting cold just standing here after coming out of a warm shower."  
  
Rock looked up and leapt out of the way, holding his hands out to the side as if a waiter for her to pass.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Cute little song I wrote the lyrics for myself. I also came up with the tune, although, of course you can't hear it. Anyway, the next chapter isn't for the faint of heart (nor stomach) and is not suitable for children due to its violent content. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day! 


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